.p
d^
FOR THE PEOPLE
FOR EDVCATION ,
FOR SCIENCE
LIBRARY
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
/ X'
LOST AND VANISHING
BIRDS
FRONTISPI ECE
Plate I.
GR EAT BUSTAR DS
LOST
AND
VANISHING BIRDS
Being a Record of some Remarkable
Extinct Species and a Plea for
some Threatened Forms
By CHARLES DIXON
author of
'the migration of birds" "curiosities of bird life'
"the nests and eggs of BRITISH BIRDS "
ETC. ETC. ETC.
WITH TEN PLATES BY CHARLES WHYMPER
LONDON: JOHN MACQUEEN
MDCCCXCVIII
•f"
PREFACE
^
/^NE of the saddest features of civilisation is
^-^ the disappearance of so many beautiful and
curious creatures from this world of ours. From
all parts of the earth the same story comes ; and
we now seem to be within measurable distance of
a time when wrecks and remnants of once compact
and indigenous assemblages of organisms will be
all that remain to us, and such a thing as a
complete fauna will be unknown. This is not only
a crime, but the violation of a sacred trust which
we hold for posterity. Civilisation has already
ground away under its merciless heel most of the
faunal facies of Europe; Asia fares but little
better, and is fast being reduced to the same state ;
Africa is being rapidly depleted of all its most
curious and striking forms of animal life ; Austral-
asia is a wretched object lesson of civilised man's
6 PREFACE
exterminating progress ; whilst North America has
already lost some of its ancient types, and is fast
losing the remainder: South America alone re-
tains its prehistoric fauna in greatest completeness,
although even here the sad work of extermination
has commenced. Birds have suifered severely in
this general spoliation, and their extermination and
persecution furnish material for some of the saddest
chapters in the annals of ornithology.
In the present volume an effort has been made
not only to focus in a popular form our knowledge
of the species we have lost and are still likely to
lose, but to excite a greater interest in the protec-
tion of birds, particularly in those species, at home
and abroad, that are more or less threatened with
extermination at the present time.
So far as British birds are concerned, we have
dealt with all the recently extinct and threatened
species; but of course it would be utterly im-
possible, within the limits of this small volume, to
treat exotic species with the same fulness. We
have, however, carefully selected a few of the most
interesting and desperate cases on which to hang
our plea for the better protection of all. Some of
the most interesting extinct species have also been
included.
PREFACE 7
We are convinced that much of the effort now
being made on behalf of doomed or threatened
birds is misdirected ; and if the present work not
only helps in some measure to devise more rational
methods, but also excites a wider sympathy for
those vanishing species, its principal purpose will
have been attained. p -pv
Paignton, October 1897.
CONTENTS
->
LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Introduction — The Extermination of Species
PACK
13
PART I
LOST AND VANISHING BRITISH BIRDS
Lost British Birds
Savi's Waeblee {Loeustella luscinioides) . . .43
The Spoonbill {Platalea leucorodia) . . .48
The Bittern {Botaurus steUaris) . . . .54
The Crane {Grus cinerca) . . . . .60
The Great Bustard {Otis tarda) . . . .67
The Avocet {Recurvirostra avoeetta) . . .73
The Black-tailed Godwit {Limosa melanura'- . . 73
The Black Tern {Sterna nigr-a) . . . .83
The Great Auk {Alca impcnnis) . . . .87
Vanishing British Birds
The Bearded Titmouse {Panurus biarmicus) . ' . 98
The St. Kilda Wren {Troglodytes hirtensis) . . 104
CONTENTS
Vanishing Bkitish Birds — continued
The Hoopoe {Upupa eiwps)
The Osprey (Pandlon haliccehis) .
The Kite {Milvus regalis) ....
The Common Buzzard {Buteo vulgaris) .
The Golden Eagle {Aquila chryscetus)
The White-tailed Eagle {Haliceetus alhicilla) .
The Honey Buzzard {Pernis apivorus)
The Marsh Harrier {Circus certtginosus)
Montagu's Harrier [Circus cineraceus) .
The Hen Harrier {Circus cyansus)
The Dotterel {Eudromias morinelhis)
The Kentish Sand Plover {^gialophilus cantianus)
The Ruff {Machetes pugnax)
The Red-necked Phalarope {Phalaropus hyperboreus)
The Roseate Tern {Sterna dougalli)
The Great Skua {Stercorarius catarrhactes)
Some Threatened British Species
PAGE
108
113
119
125
130
136
142
147
152
157
162
167
173
179
185
190
196
PAET II
LOST AND VANISHING EXOTIC BIRDS
Lost Exotic Birds
The Mamo {Drepanis pacifica)
The Dodo {Didus inept^ts) ....
The Solitaire {Pezophaps solitaria)
The Pied Duck {Camptolaimus lahradorius)
Pallas's Cormorant {Phalacrocorax perspicillatus)
Some Other Extinct Forms
211
215
220
226
231
234
CONTENTS
II
Vanishing Exotic Birds
The Carolina Paroquet {Conurus carolinensis) .
The Owl Parrot {Strigops habroptilus)
The Passenger Pigeon {Edopistes migrcdorius) .
The California Vulture (Pseudogryiihus californianus)
The Heath Hen {Tympanitchus cupido) .
The American Turkey {Mcleagris americana)
The Aldabran Rail {Dryolimnas aldabranus)
The Kiwis (Apterygidae) . . . •
Struthious Birds : Ostriches, Rheas, Emus, and
Cassowaries .....
Some Threatened Exotic Species
PAGE
237
242
245
250
254
256
261
266
271
283
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
I, Great Bustards
Frontispiece
II. Fenland in the Olden Days.
To face page 48
III. AVOCETS ....
73
IV. Great Auks
87
V. Bearded Tits .
98
VI. The Kite
119
VII. The Golden Eagle
„ 130
VIII. The Mamo
211
IX. The American Turkey
256
X. Kiwis ....
266
INTRODUCTION
THE EXTERMINATION OF SPECIES
PERHAPS few readers are aware (unless they
be experienced and professed zoologists)
how very sensitive species are to any changes in
their surroundings : on the one hand, quick to take
advantage of anything in their favour; on the
other hand, as readily injured by adverse conditions.
These latter may be of the most varied character,
and make their influence felt in a very complicated
or indirect manner, the relations not only between
one species and another, but with their environ-
ment, being most complex. Many instances might
be given to illustrate how complex are the relations,
not only of one species to another, but to the
environment of those species, or, in other cases, to
the utter dependence for existence of species upon
their neighbours. During the lapse of unnumbered
14 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
ages, all living things have been (and still continue
to be) unceasingly striving, under the influence of
certain well-recognised laws, to adapt themselves
to more or less constantly changing conditions
of existence. What is popularly known as the
" balance of nature " is the primal result of these
incessant efforts of organisms, one acting upon the
other in countless ways, to maintain a place in the
ranks of struggling life. We can very forcibly
illustrate these remarks by quoting one or two
classical instances recorded by Darwin. Certainly
one of the most complex of these is that which
illustrates the intricate connection between, and in-
terdependence upon, such widely different organisms
as a carnivorous animal and a scented yet lowly
flower. Perhaps every reader may be aware that
certain flowers absolutely depend upon the visits
of insects to fertilise them. They cannot produce
seed without such visits; and in a great many
instances this fertilisation can only be accomplished
by a certain species of insect. Now, one of our
commonest flowers, the red clover, is largely,
perhaps we might almost say entirely, fertilised
by our little friend the humble-bee. If these bees
do not visit the clover flowers, those flowers are
sterile and produce no seeds. But the humble-bees
INTRODUCTION 15
have a deadly enemy in the field-mice, which
destroy, it has been computed, no less than two-
thirds of their nests and combs. The mice in their
turn are destroyed by cats, Owls, Kestrels ; so that
in localities where the enemies of mice are common
the bees have more chance of multiplying, and the
flowers a correspondingly greater facility for
fertilisation. The abundance of clover in a district
may therefore depend upon the number of cats,
of Owls and Kestrels ! Take another instance.
Darwin has recorded some very curious effects
produced by the planting of several hundred acres
of Scotch fir on a large heath in Staffordshire. In
a quarter of a century the change produced in the
vegetation was very remarkable, plants having
appeared or disappeared in obedience to the altered
conditions, whilst many other organisms were un-
doubtedly similarly affected. One more instance
must suffice, and this we may quote from Darwin's
great work on The Origin of Species : " In several
parts of the world insects determine the existence
of cattle. Perhaps Paraguay offers the most
curious instance of this, for here neither cattle
nor horses nor dogs have ever run wild, though
they swarm southward and northward in a feral
state ; and Azara and Rengger have shown that this
i6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
is caused by the greater numbers, in Paraguay, of
a certain fly which lays its eggs in the navels of
these animals when first born. The increase of
these flies, numerous as they are, must be habitually
checked by some means, probably by other parasitic
insects. Hence, if certain insectivorous birds were
to decrease in Paraguay, the parasitic insects would
probably increase ; and this would lessen the
number of the navel-frequenting flies. Then cattle
and horses would become feral, and this would
greatly alter (as, indeed, I have observed in parts
of South America), the vegetation; this, again,
would largely aflect the insects; and this, as we
have just seen in Staffordshire, the insectivorous
birds ; and so onward, in ever-increasing circles of
complexity. Not that under nature the relations
will ever be as simple as this. Battle within
battle must be continually recurring with varying
success ; and yet in the long-run the forces are so
nicely balanced that the face of nature remains
for a long time uniform, though assuredly the
merest trifle would give the victory to one organic
being over another."
Most, if not all, organisms are therefore so
delicately adapted to their environment, that they
quickly become sensitive to the least disturbing
INTRODUCTION 17
element, either for good or for evil, profiting
readily by the former, and being adversely affected
by the latter, even to the extent of more or less
rapid extinction. Numerous instances might be
given to illustrate how readily certain species have
profited by the decrease, say, of their natural
enemies, or the initiation of easier conditions of
existence ; and, on the other hand, how disastrous
have been the effects of similarly changed conditions
acting in a directly opposite manner. We have,
for instance, much cause to regret the rapid
increase of the House Sparrow, partly due to the
wholesale slaughter of birds of prey, and partly
to the exceptional facilities for shelter, abnormal
reproduction, and the constant and abundant
supply of food, due to the march of modern
civilisation and the spread of agriculture. We
have equally to regret the disappearance from our
avifauna of such species as the Great Bustard and
the Crane. Bird lovers may well deplore the final
disappearance of such magnificent species from our
islands, due indirectly, to some extent, to the changed
conditions of the century now drawing to a close,
but more to the growth of sport, the increase of
gunners, armed with more deadly weapons, and
the rapid multiplication of the avaricious class of
i8 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
collector. We may safely conclude that senseless
persecution and wanton slaughter must be held
primarily responsible for the loss of the Great
Bustard, aided by alteration in the methods of
tillage. Drainage and enclosure of waste lands,
and the changed conditions due to increase of
population, and possibly the spread of railways
and other industries that have broken the seclusion
and almost primeval peace of many a favoured
haunt, must also be held responsible for the bird's
disappearance, as well as indiscriminate shooting
and egg-stealing.
So far as we are at present able to ascertain, the
disappearance of species from the world may be
more or less directly traced to the agency of man,
and primarily of civilised man. We cannot recall
to mind a solitary instance in which the exter-
mination of a species within historic time has been
exclusively due to any extra human agency.
Species and individuals, of course, are constantly
striving one against the other in the battle of life ;
incessantly struggling to maintain a place in the
ranks of existing forms — here gaining an advantage,
there losing ground, as the conditions of existence
may vary to their disadvantage or in their favour.
The extermination of species under such conditions
INTRODUCTION 19
we know must have taken place, as the records
of palaeontology unquestionably demonstrate, and
there can be little or no doubt is in actual progress
around us now; but the process is so gradual, and
the difficulties of direct observation and calculation
so immense, that we entirely fail to perceive it.
Some slight indication of the exterminating force
of unfavourable natural conditions may be derived
from the effects, say, of a severe winter, or an
abnormal season of drought or wet, or unusual
lowness of temperature, upon birds, for instance ;
but these adverse circumstances are never
sufficiently prolonged for us to remark the
absolute decimation of a species, and apply but
to a circumscribed area. On the other hand, the
extermination due to man's interference with the
balance of nature is immeasurably more rapid, and
its results in the majority of cases are only too
sadly apparent. Many, indeed, are the instances
which might be quoted in support of these state-
ments. Uncivilised man, so long as he uses
primitive weapons, apparently makes little or no
evil impression upon continental fauna), the slight
tax upon them being amply met by the normal in-
crease of the species concerned, but in islands the case
has been different, as will be seen in future pages.
20 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
In all parts of the world island species have been
the greatest sufferers and the most easily exter-
minated, owing partly to the comparatively
limited number of individuals composing them,
and in a great measure to their verj'' specialised
and localised conditions of existence rendering
them acutely sensitive to any adverse influence.
The extinction of a great many intensely interest-
ing forms — in the present volume we shall confine
ourselves to birds alone — may be said to date from
that period when the early explorers were scouring
the seas in quest of undiscovered countries, and
when remote uninhabited islands were either per-
manently colonised or periodically visited for the
supplies of fresh food and water that they may
have chanced to furnish. In most cases the visits
of civilised man to these islands has had sooner or
later a disastrous effect upon the avifauna which
is or was usually peculiar to them. Man not only
destroyed many of these wonderful bird-types for
food or other purposes, but brought about their
gradual extirpation less directly in other ways —
by burning off the undergrowth or clearing the
forests, and by introducing various domestic or
predatory animals to which the peculiar, and in
many cases flightless birds, or their still more
INTRODUCTION 21
helpless eggs and young, fell easy victims. In
these remote times, the small amount of interest
taken in what we may call living science, when
zoologists attached no importance whatever to the
geographical distribution of species, nor to the
equally significant phenomena of island faunae and
florae as bearing upon the question of the evolution
of specific forms, may reasonably be urged as an
excuse for the want of some efibrts being made
to preserve for posterity these interesting and
valuable relics of an ancient past. But this
extenuating circumstance cannot be pleaded as an
excuse for the almost universal work of exter-
mination that has been going on steadily and
surely through the present century; even after
the publication of the discoveries of Darwin and
Wallace, that not only changed the entire process
of zoological research, but brought out in vivid
suggestiveness the importance of those forms
which civilised man has been (consciously or not
makes no difierence) doing his best to stamp out.
More especially do we allude to the senseless crime
of extirpation which has been committed in New
Zealand and other antipodean lands, where species
after species has passed away, and others are still
surely following, without any rational efibrts being
22 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
made to save them. Zoologically this region is
perhaps the most interesting in the world. It
contains many species and types unknown else-
where, many of them archaic forms, relics of a
once perhaps dominant fauna replaced by more
highly specialised forms, and only preserved to us
at all by that isolation which has eventually
wrought their doom. Not only have these species
been directly destroyed by man, but the sense-
less practice of " acclimatisation " has here been
pursued in all its crass stupidity. Man by his
silly meddling methods, and his tampering with
that balance which nature so delicately established
and kept true, has worked sad havoc amongst
indigenous species. By way of illustration : first
rabbits were transported to the Antipodes, and then,
when they became a pest, — as was long foreseen
by naturalists, — ferrets, stoats, and weasels were
introduced as a futile attempt to exterminate them.
But these predatory creatures, instead of materially
lessening the rodent plague, attacked the helpless
fauna, especially the flightless birds, with results
that can only possibly end in the complete extinc-
tion of these interesting forms. This introduction
of exotic species, where successful, almost invariably
ends sooner or later in disaster to some members of
INTRODUCTION 23
the indigenous fauna with which they are brought
most closely in contact ; and we may here take
the opportunity of protesting most strongly
against that introduction of various foreign birds
into our islands which has been suggested by more
than one naturalist, philosophic enough, one would
think, to realise the inevitable consequences, more
especially so with such unhappy examples of "ac-
climatisation" before them. The House Sparrow,
to quote but a single instance, was imported into
America as a welcome novelty and souvenir of the
Old Country ; it has now become such a pest that
a fruitless war of extermination is almost every-
where waged against it, and the bird in not a few
places has succeeded in ousting indigenous and
far more interesting and useful species.
In the absence of all historical evidence, and
with nothing but tradition and legend to guide us,
it is impossible to form any correct estimate of the
number of avine species that has been extermin-
ated by uncivilised races of mankind. We have,
however, some comparatively recent evidence
furnished by the Maoris of New Zealand, whose
traditions relating to certain species of gigantic
wingless birds of that country, known as " Moas,"
are of exceptional interest. From information
24 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
which has been gathered from the Maoris, there
seems little or no reason to doubt that their
ancestors were well acquainted with these huge
birds in a living state, and that at one time the
Moas frequented both islands in abundance. The
Maoris hunted them for food, and as the birds
must have been comparatively helpless, and
possibly of low fecundity, the improvident natives
eventually exterminated them, shortly before the
arrival of civilised man in New Zealand. Possibly
another instance of avine extermination by savage
man is presented by the Mamo {Drejoanis i^cicijica),
of the Sandwich Islands, that is said to have been
killed for its yellow plumage, which was used to
embellish the state robes of chiefs. We are also
informed by Dr. Forbes, that since the Chatham
Islands were colonised by Maoris and Europeans
some fifty years ago, the birds have lamentably
decreased in number, and the constant persecution
of every sort of bird and living thing by the
natives is producing the certain extermination of
all the indigenous species. But the natives in this
case may only be following the white man's
example, or tempted by the price which is often
offered for a rare bird by collectors. The Moas
undoubtedly owed their extinction to the Maoris,
INTRODUCTION 25
who found in them an easily procurable supply of
food, but for the subsequent decimation of the
New Zealand fauna Englishmen themselves are
solely to blame. There can be little doubt that
one of the most deadly exterminators of the
indigenous birds of New Zealand is the rat. The
brown rat was introduced into the islands during
the very earliest days of their settlement, and, as
usual wherever it finds its way, it took readily to
its new home and multiplied apace. Then came
the introduction of stoats and weasels, and between
them these bloodthirsty little animals have worked
sad havoc amongst the indigenous birds, most
of which are, or were, not only exceptionally tame
and unsuspecting in a land where there were few
or no enemies, but made their nests in places
readily accessible to these four-footed invaders.
When brought under the influence of such changed
conditions, most birds seem powerless to avert their
threatened extinction, and instances are excessively
rare in which a species has altered its habits to
escape from an entirely new danger. One such
instance we may, however, quote — that of the
Samoan Pigeon (Bidunculus strigirostris). This
species, in order to escape the cats which threatened
speedily to exterminate it, is said to have taken to
26 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
nesting and roosting in high trees, with the
beneficial result that its numbers are now steadily
on the increase again. It is gratifying to have
Mr. W. W. Smith's assurance that in certain parts
of New Zealand some of the rat-threatened birds —
Honey-eaters and others — are again increasing in
number, as conditions are proving less satisfactory
for their four-footed foe, and the clearing away of
the lower bush is depriving the rat of a favourite
haunt. Another fruitful cause of extinction is the
importation by settlers, from sentimental motives,
of certain birds from Europe, notably the House
Sparrow, which have succeeded in crowding out
many indigenous species. Dogs, cats, goats, and
hogs, when introduced into small islands, have also
exterminated many helpless avine species, especially
ground birds and those in which the power of
flight was limited or even absent.
Comparatively few people are aware how
rapidly and upon what an enormous scale the
spread of civilisation is working changes and
making serious gaps in the fauna of the world.
Civilisation, wherever it spreads, sooner or later
affects the wild creatures of the invaded area, and
in most cases the change has been attended with
disaster to the fauna. Islands do not suffer alone.
INTRODUCTION 27
for even the great continents are now rapidly
being depopulated of their larger or most helpless
birds and beasts. The work of extermination may
in many cases be a longer one than it has proved
to be on many islands, but the final results are
just as inevitable. In the Polar regions the seal
and the whale (to quote but a couple of instances)
have been reduced almost to a state of extinction ;
in warmer lands the zebra and the giraife of
Africa, in fact all the big game of that continent,
is rapidly being exterminated; in America the
buffalo and other large animals are threatened
with a similar fate. Every year civilised man
(and to a great extent savage man follows his
example) is becoming more and more utilitarian,
and species after species is threatened as its
economic value becomes recognised. Millions of
birds must be killed annually for decorative
purposes ; crocodiles, alligators, lizards, and many
other wild creatures, formerly despised, have been
found to yield valuable products ; and if the
fashion or craze lasts, the species affected ultimately
verges on extinction. Wherever civilised man and
his animal satellites penetrate, the fauna suffers,
and the longer he remains the more disastrous
his influence becomes ; so that it requires no very
28 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
severe strain upon the imagination to picture a
time when all the larger wild birds and beasts, all
the exceptionally helpless ones of the earth, must
perish, or exist only as specimens in our museums,
or as phantom records in our scientific literature.
This will be a serious outlook for the biologist of
the future, and the matter has long been suflSciently
important to warrant some strong steps being
taken to avert as far as possible such a vast
calamity. After all, we only hold the fauna of
the world in trust, and it is but our bare duty
to posterity to hand that fauna down as intact as
we found it, or as nearly so as the reasonable
exigencies of life will admit.
We now come to consider the question of exter-
mination in a partial sense, and more especially as
it relates to our own islands. The species with
which we are therefore concerned now are those
that have become extinct in some parts of their
range, although they still survive in other areas.
Here, again, islands present us with the most
significant and important instances of recent ex-
tinction, although many continental examples
might be cited where birds have been extirpated
in some localities although continuing to flourish
in others. The Passenger Pigeon of America and
INTRODUCTION 29
the Francolin of Europe may be quoted as cases
in point. A very large percentage of the birds
whose absence from the British Islands as breed-
ing or indigenous species we have now to deplore,
probably could not have been preserved to us had
the most elaborate means for their protection been
devised. They were victims to the results of
advancing civilisation and improvement — destined
by the altered conditions of existence that such
changes involved, to disappear from certain areas
in which it became impossible for them to survive.
On the other hand, there are certain lost species that
might still have continued to find a place in our
avifauna had reasonable protection been granted to
them. These, too, have passed from our area never
normally to return. There are certain other
interesting species still left to us, but extermina-
tion awaits them in the by no means distant
future, unless steps be speedily taken to preserve
them.
The unscientific reader may naturally ask why
comparatively so few birds have become extinct
in the British Islands, where the influence of
civilisation has been so prolonged and so acute,
whilst so many have suffered in New Zealand
and other remote islands whose colonisation
30 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
has been relatively so recent. This apparent
anomaly admits of a very easy explanation.
Islands that have from a variety of causes, which
we need not here stay to discuss, remained in a
state of great isolation, are generally found to be
inhabited by a fauna, or the relics of a fauna once
more widely dispersed, or have developed a variety
of species by the aid of their long-enduring isola-
tion from all allied forms. It thus happens that
these remotely isolated spots have gradually be-
come possessed of a fauna more or less peculiar
to themselves, species being found on them that
are not found anywhere else. But, on the other
hand, islands that are not so isolated, either being
situated close to continents, of which it is certain
they formed a geologically recent part, or are
located in seas in which uninterrupted intercom-
munication with the nearest land masses is main-
tained by normal migration across them, or the
various fortuitous methods of dispersal, have few
or no such opportunities for establishing a peculiar
fauna, and consequently preserve their biological
homogeneity. The British Islands are a capital
example of the latter class of islands, and their
avifauna is almost exactly identical with that of
the adjacent continent, and is subject to very
INTRODUCTION 31
similar conditions. But two birds are peculiar to
them : one of these, the Red Grouse, is carefully
preserved from extinction for the sport it yields ;
and the other, the St. Kilda Wren, had long
maintained its place even on a few isolated rocks,
until in an evil day its specific difference was
detected, and now the greed of collectors threatens
soon to extirpate it as effectually as other methods
did the Dodo and the Great Auk. In Britain, then,
we had no peculiar or flightless birds, no species
so tame from its unfamiliarity with man, for
civilisation to extirpate, although we had certain
others — individuals of widely dispersed continental
species — that bred in our islands, many of which
have vanished or are gradually going, more perhaps
than the average reader is likely to suspect. We
cannot too strongly assert, as having a vital bear-
ing upon the whole question of extermination, that
the supply of birds, even in such a favourable
locality as the British area, situated as it is so
closely to continental land, is inexhaustible. If
we kill off our native contingent, especially of
resident or breeding species, there is no reason
whatever to console ourselves with the belief that
other individuals will arrive to replace them. If
such were really the case, the Great Bustard,
32 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
the Spoonbill, the Crane, and other vanished
species would be dwellers in our land to-day ; for
there are plenty of these birds across the Channel,
almost within view of the white cliffs of England.
But individual birds are closely confined to certain
areas, and to these they keep with fatal pertinacity,
so that, if we destroy all the individuals in one
area, the chances are that that area will remain
depopulated for ever. The record of extermination
in the British Islands abundantly proves the
truth of this assertion ; for in every case where
the native stock has been exhausted, the species
has dropped out of our fauna completely, unless
introduced by man, as the sedentary Capercaillie
was. No bird of strictly migratory habits that
has been exterminated in the British Islands will
ever return to them again, notwithstanding any
and every effort that man may make to reinstate
the species. The sedentary Bustard might be
induced to take up its quarters with us again,
but the migratory Crane under no circumstances
whatever will ever return as our summer guest.
Bearing these facts in mind, it behoves us to guard
jealously what few large birds remain to us, and
in the case of vanishing species to see that they
are carefully preserved, especially during the
INTRODUCTION 33
breeding season, when their numbers may in time
gradually increase.
There can be no doubt, of course, that the great
alterations which have been made in many dis-
tricts, especially in reclaiming waste lands, have
literally destroyed the haunts of many of our
larger birds. These changes were inevitable ; but
when we bear in mind how attached individual
birds are to their accustomed haunts, we cannot
help feeling that if protection had been given at
the right time, some at least of these big birds
might have been preserved to us even if in a
semi-domesticated condition. We have surely the
familiar instance before us in so many continental
towns and villages, of the White Stork returning
year by year to rear its young on the houses and
mosques, or the Hoopoe stalking sedately on the
dunghills of the Arabs, regarded by the inhabitants
of these countries with no more curiosity than we
evince for the Swallows and Starlings nesting on
our own dwellings. We may rest assured that the
birds would stay with us as long as existence were
possible, if we left them unmolested. It is too late
now to retain many of our lost birds, but there are
others left that would appreciate protection, and
pass their harmless, nay, even useful lives in our
3
34 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
midst. The gunner should be restrained, the bird-
catcher warned off, even the collector forbidden.
Legislation on behalf of our vanishing birds has
been most beneficial, and might, of course, be of
greater service ; but we would rather see our
favourites preserved by sentiment and kindly
feeling than protected by Act of Parliament. We
should like to see lessons on the uses and economy
of birds becom.e part of our national education,
and kindness to birds inculcated and fostered in
every school in the land.
On the other hand, as a set-oflf against the many
interesting species that we have lost for ever, it is
gratifying to know that the spread of cultivation
and the improvement of waste land, so disastrous
to the larger birds, has favoured the increase and
dispersal of considerable numbers of the smaller
species. Many of these latter birds are songsters
of varying merit, and these have followed the
horticulturist and the agriculturist, so that many
districts are now made glad with song which
formerly were silent. The boom of the Bittern
has died away with the disappearance of marsh
and fen ; the song of the Passere is heard in its
place. This, in a measure, is some compensation
for our loss. In some districts, however, many of
INTRODUCTION 35
the smaller birds have been ruthlessly depleted by
the gunner and the snarer; and we can name
localities where such species as Goldfinches, Bull-
finches, Hawfinches, Wood Larks, Nuthatches, and
Kingfishers are either altogether exterminated or
fast becoming so. Certain intelligently framed
Amendments to the Acts for the Preservation
of Wild Birds, and the establishment of proper
machinery for the enforcement of the existing law,
should remedy the evil. The wholesale destruction
of the nests and eggs of the smaller birds that goes
on in most country districts must have a most
injurious effect upon the species, and is even worse
than the destruction of the birds themselves. Eggs
to some extent are now protected, but the law in
most places is utterly ignored.
A few words here seem appropriate upon the
practice of shooting those odd birds that accidentally
visit our islands from time to time. Now, of the
four hundred or so of avine species which comprise
what is popularly known as the "list of British
birds," nearly one half are practically abnormal
visitors to our shores, lost and stray individuals, as
a rule, far from their proper area of distribution,
and doomed sooner or later to " die without issue."
Without in any way being understood to counten-
36 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
ance or defend the indiscriminate destruction of
birds purely for the sake of killing, we maintain
that the capture of these wanderers does not
injuriously affect the species in the slightest degree,
but, on the other hand, is a direct service to the
science of ornitholog3^ Their capture is often of
great importance, and the thanks of all systematic
ornithologists are due to the collector of every
abnormal avine visitor to British shores. We often
hear of a burst of indignation greeting the publica-
tion of such a capture, but wrath of this kind is as
untimely as it is out of place. None of these
wanderers will ever succeed in establishing the
species in our area ; avine colonisation does not
depend upon such methods, and if every rare
abnormal visitor were left severely alone, the net
result would be precisely the same. But a certain
amount of discrimination is absolutely necessary,
especially in spring. For instance, the Hoopoe
arrives on our southern shores so frequently in
spring, that there is the possibility of these visits
being normal. The bird should therefore be left to
rear its young in peace if so minded ; and I would
have every rascal pilloried that dared to shoot one
of these curious and charming creatures. But such
species as the Bee-eater, the Yellow-browed Willow
INTRODUCTION 37
Warbler, White's Thrush, and the Desert Wheatear
may be shot without compunction ; for the capture
of a hundred of these birds in England would be
less injurious to the species than the death of a
single pair at their normal breeding-grounds or
winter quarters; in fact, it is even the more
merciful course to shoot them, for it prevents their
ultimate death from starvation or worse. All these
abnormal visitors are already dead to their species,
and their capture is not only advisable but perfectly
justifiable.
One word in conclusion. There are few subjects
concerning which more nonsense has been written,
or which are more surrounded with maudlin senti-
ment, than the " extermination " and " slaughter "
of birds. In season and out of season we are being
constantly reminded by well-intentioned people, we
do not doubt, that this bird or that is threatened
with extinction, or being ruthlessly butchered. The
capture of a " rare bird " is often the signal for an
outburst of misplaced indignation from these well-
meaning faddists, whose ill-timed diatribe too often
not only defeats its object and brings ridicule upon
themselves, but is apt seriously to injure a cause
whose welfare every naturalist should have at
heart — the protection of our native avifauna, and
38 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
the actual preservation of threatened species. Let
not these remarks be misunderstood ; for we yield
to no one in our desire to see our feathered friends
and favourites shielded from harm, or more heartily
condemn their often useless and unnecessary
slaughter. But let us put our own house in order
first ; there is much to do at home in the intelligent
protection of our native birds, and in guiding
public opinion, before we turn elsewhere. It may
be perfectly true that abroad certain birds are
sorely persecuted for their plumage ; but the facts
are often grossly exaggerated; and the inconsistency
of these ignorant " humanitarians " repels rather
than attracts sympathy, and defeats its own ends.
Doubtless there will always be fair women ready
to adorn their persons and enhance their charms
by the aid of borrowed plumes, all Leagues and
Societies notwithstanding, and in moderation and
humane discrimination who shall say them nay ?
but the crusade against the abuse of the practice
would be far more effective if more rationally and
sensibly conducted. We offer these words of advice
out of no ill-feeling to these well-meaning folk, and
assure them of our sympathy and support in every
movement for the intelligent preservation and
protection of the birds. In some respects accredited
INTRODUCTION 39
collectors and scientific men are as much to blame
in decimating a species as the milliner and his
fashionable lady patrons. Birds, many of them
local and scarce to a high degree, are being
indiscriminately collected in the name of science.
Naturalists, of all people, should ever seek to
protect, never heedlessly to destroy.
We will now proceed to notice in detail not only
lost and vanishing British birds, but some of the
principal exotic species already extinct or threatened
with extermination.
Part I
->
LOST AND VANISHING
BRITISH BIRDS
LOST BRITISH BIRDS
->
SAVrS WARBLER
{LOCUSTELLA LUSCINIOIDES)
IN many respects Savi's Warbler is a very
interesting little bird. In the first place, it
may safely be regarded as the most fleeting known
species that has ever occupied a place in the British
fauna; for it was not discovered to be a British
bird at all until about the year 1819, and in less
than forty years it had, so far as can be ascertained,
become extinct in our islands, the last specimen
having been obtained in 1856. Savi's Warbler
becomes still more interesting to English naturalists
from the fact that the species may be said to have
been first discovered in the British Islands, although
its specific distinctness was not declared until four
years after this event, when in 1824 Savi gave it a
44 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
name. All the evidence we possess relating to the
British distribution of Savi's Warbler indicates the
very restricted nature of its habitat. So far as is
known, this Warbler was confined to the fens of
Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Huntingdonshire.
Like the Dartford Warbler, it was therefore one of
our most local species — a significant fact, as we shall
shortly learn.
In our opening chapter we have pointed out
the usual fate that overtakes species localised on
islands, when their conditions of life are seriously
changed. Precisely the same remarks apply to
Savi's Warbler ; its very localness (as was equally
the case with the Large Copper Butterfly, a denizen
of the same fenland wastes) was the principal
cause of its rapid final extinction. No direct war
was waged against it, but its few chosen haunts
were reclaimed and brought into cultivation, so
that existence in them became impossible. Had
Savi's Warbler been more widely distributed, like
its congener the Grasshopper Warbler, for instance,
there can be no reasonable doubt that it would
have been in existence as a British species to-day.
It is a rather remarkable fact that such a species
should have had so restricted a distribution in our
islands, and one that seems to suggest that its
SAVrS WARBLER 45
numbers had been steadily diminishing for years
before the species was discovered. Its fate should
serve as a warning, for we have other excessively
local species in our midst — the Marsh Warbler, the
Dartford Warbler, the Chough, and the Red-necked
Phalarope, to name but a few — which may become
extinct as rapidly, not necessarily through the
destruction of their favourite haunts, but from
direct persecution. Savi's Warbler also sadly
confirms the fact previously dwelt upon, that the
supply of birds (whether sedentary or migratory
species) in a district is by no means inexhaustible,
and in the present case must have been a very
limited one indeed. This Warbler still breeds in
the fens of Holland, but from similar causes — the
drainage of its aquatic haunts — is much less
common than formerly. All allowance being made
for the excessively skulking habits of Savi's
Warbler, there can be little likelihood of its ever
being detected in our country again, and no human
agency can ever restore it to our avifauna. We
will now proceed to give a few brief particulars
concerning the life history of this vanished species.
Savi's Warbler appears everywhere to be a
singularly local bird, and breeds in various suitable
districts of Central and Southern Europe, and in
46 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
North Africa in the swamps of Algeria and
Morocco. It is a summer visitor to the south of
France, to Spain, Italy, Austria, and Central and
Southern Russia. The birds that breed in the
Kirghiz Steppe area and in Turkestan are possibly
sub-specifically distinct. The only winter quarters
of Savi's Warbler appear to be in Egypt and in the
oases of the Sahara. The haunts of this Warbler
are apparently confined to reed beds. The bird is
said not to be so shy as its congener the Grass-
hopper Warbler, but is skulking and wary enough
if alarmed, taking refuge amongst the reeds. It
may often be seen running mouse-like up the
stems of the reeds to the feathery crown, then
dropping again into the cover to repeat the action
on another stem. Sometimes it pauses on the
crown of a reed to utter its exceedingly monotonous
song, which closely resembles that of the Grass-
hopper Warbler — more musical, perhaps, but far
less powerful. This song is uttered both by day
and by night. The call-note is described as a
harsh krr. Savi's Warbler, like most other reed
Warblers, is a somewhat quarrelsome bird, and ever
ready to drive away a rival or an intruder from
its particular haunt.
The nesting season of this W^arbler is in May
SAVrS WARBLER 47
and June. We are informed by Professor Newton
and others that the nest of Savi's Warbler was
well known to the Fen men, although they were
unacquainted with the parent birds. The nest is
carefully concealed amongst the aquatic vegetation
from a few inches to a few feet from the ground,
and is a well-made, deep, cup-shaped structure,
composed almost entirely of the flat, ribbon-like
leaves of Glyceria. The eggs — from four to six in
number — vary from white to pale buff in ground
colour, sprinkled and freckled with light brown
and violet grey underlying markings. Both birds
are said to assist in incubation, and but one brood
appears to be reared in the season. The food of
this Warbler consists principally of insects and
their larvae.
Savi's Warbler is a sombrely arrayed little bird,
having the general colour of the upper parts uni-
form russet brown, darker on the quills. The
under parts are pale huffish brown, becoming nearly
white on the throat and the centre of the belly,
and pale chestnut on the under tail coverts. The
female closely resembles the male in colour. The
total length of the bird is about five and a half
inches.
THE SPOONBILL
{plat ALE A LEUCORODIA)
A LTHOUGH the Spoonbill is still an abnormal
visitor at irregular intervals to our islands,
it must now be regarded as another of our lost
British birds. We do not share the recently
expressed opinion of an eminent naturalist, that
these accidentally occurring individuals would
doubtless once again take up their residence
amongst us ; for what we already know of the
laws of avine dispersal is diametrically opposed
to such a proceeding. These odd wandering Spoon-
bills that from time to time pay us their uncertain
and irregular visits are migrants out of their
proper course, not pioneers in quest of pastures
new ; and these, we doubt not, will gradually cease
to be noticed in England at all as the bird becomes
extinct in Holland, its last stronghold in North-
western Europe, and where most of its breeding-
48
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Q
Z
UJ
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X
H
■ \L PARK, ■''^'
THE SPOONBILL 49
places are gradually being destroyed. We have
ample evidence to show that the Spoonbill was
formerly widely if locally distributed over the
southern and eastern portions of England and in
the south of Wales. In England, in the olden
days, the Spoonbill was known by the names of
" Popeler," " Shovelard," and " Shoveler," whilst the
Duck known to us by the latter term was then
called a " Spoonbill." We learn many interesting
facts about the Spoonbill from ancient records —
that it used to build in company with Herons in
Norfolk and Suffolk ; that earlier still there were
colonies of Spoonbills established at Fulham in
Middlesex, and in some of the woods of West
Sussex. There are also records of this species
breeding in trees in Pembrokeshire. The last
breeding - place of the Spoonbill in England of
which we appear to have any record was at
Trimley in Suffolk. This was about the year
1670. It is difficult to assign any reason for the
Spoonbill's extinction in this country. The reclama-
tion of fens and marshes is not a sufficiently satis-
factory explanation, for the Spoonbill appears to
have been equally at home in high trees ; a more
feasible cause of its disappearance may have been
the destruction of timber and tlie breaking up of
50 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
land for building purposes, together with that
direct persecution which such a curious and con-
spicuous bird would be sure to invite, especially
as the improvement in and the carrying of fire-
arms became more general. The fact also that the
birds were left unprotected during the breeding
season, although the taking of the eggs was
punished with a severe penalty, could not fail to
have a disastrous effect upon the species. Had
equally stringent measures been taken for the
preservation of the birds during this critical period,
the Spoonbill might still have been numbered as
an indigenous English species to-day. We under-
stand that in Holland the bird is now strictly
preserved in some of its ancient strongholds, which
we hope may result in retaining this handsome
species in the Dutch ornis for many years to
come.
In Europe, in addition to Holland, the Spoonbill
breeds in Southern Spain, in the valley of the
Danube, in the delta of the Volga, and in the Aral
basin. Eastwards in Asia we trace it as a breed-
ing species, in Asia Minor, Turkestan, Western
Siberia up to 48° north latitude. Southern Dauria,
the Amoor Valley, South - eastern Mongolia,
and southwards over the whole of India and
THE SPOONBILL 51
Ceylon. The Spoonbill also breeds throughout
Africa, south to the Soudan, and the Dahalak
Archipelago in the Red Sea. It is a winter
visitor to Arabia. The Spoonbill is only a
summer visitor to Europe, arriving in April, and
leaving in September and October. Its favourite
summer haunts are swamps, especially those
near the sea, the shallow reed and rush clothed
margins of lakes, and the dense thickets of willow
and alder trees on the submerged banks of large
rivers like the Danube and the Volga. The Spoon-
bill is a gregarious species, and not only lives in
societies, but frequently mingles with other Herons,
Ibises, and Cormorants. Its habits are very similar
to those of its allies. It has the same sedate walk,
and may often be seen standing in the shallows or
on the topmost branch of a tree quite motionless.
Like most large birds, it is somewhat shy, but at
its breeding-places will pass to and fro in silent
flight above the head of the intruder. It is not
known to utter a note of any kind, but frequently
makes a sharp clapping sound with its bill after
the manner of a Stork. Its food principally con-
sists of small crustaceans, insects, and molluscs,
the bird searching for them in the Duck-like way
for which its broad spatulate bill is so admirably
52 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
adapted. It also captures small fish, frogs, and, it is
said, eats various vegetable substances. The Spoon-
bill probably pairs for life, and yearly returns to
the same haunts to breed. The nests in some
districts are placed upon the ground, in others
upon low bushes, in others again upon lofty trees.
Nests made in the branches are larger and more
elaborate than those placed upon the ground.
When in the latter situation it is often nothing
but a low heap of broken reeds ; when in trees and
bushes, often a large mass of sticks, a foot high and
a yard across, the cavity containing the eggs being
usually lined with dry grass. The old nests are
often repaired year by year, just as is the case
with Rooks. The eggs of the Spoonbill are four or
five in number, coarse in texture, white in ground
colour, sparingly spotted and blotched with reddish
brown, and still more sparsely with underlying
markings of grey. They are subject to much
variation in size. But one brood is reared in the
season.
The Spoonbill has the general colour of the
plumage white, suffused or stained with yellow
on the neck and crest, the latter (a nuptial
ornament) formed of a bunch of narrow pointed
and drooping plumes. The spatulate bill is
THE SPOONBILL 53
black on the basal portion, shading into yellow
at the tip; the legs and feet are black. The
female resembles the male in colour. The
total length of this species is about thirty-two
inches.
THE BITTERN
{botaurus stellar is)
nnHE Bittern is another species that visits us
-*- more or less irregularly on migration, but
one which is unfortunately lost to our indigenous
avifauna for ever. We do not for a moment
believe that these odd birds which reach us will
ever attempt to settle in the British Islands as
permanent residents. The old race of indigenous
Bitterns has passed away. These we have every
reason to believe were sedentary ; whilst those
that visit us to-day do so to winter in our islands
only, just as is the case with so many other species,
some individuals of which, however, are indigenous
and breed with us, as, for instance, the Starling,
the Snow Bunting, the Song Thrush, and the
Goldcrest. Now, we think it may be taken as one
of the primary conditions of avine dispersal, that
species do not increase their range with a winter
movement, or attempt to colonise for breeding
THE BITTERN 55
purposes areas they may visit on autumn migra-
tion. Normal dispersal is the result of range
expansion in spring for purposes of reproduction.
That being so, we hope the reader will understand
that the Bitterns still visiting us are not seeking
in any way to extend their breeding area ; that
they are descendants of those individuals which
increased the range of the species across our islands
or from a British base, probably when the North
Sea was an extensive marshy plain, and are in the
habit of returning here to winter or to pass over
our area to more southern districts. Introduction by
man might succeed in reinstating the Bittern as a
British bird, as it did the Capercaillie ; but we need
not foster any hopes that the species will ever
settle here without such aid, however carefully we
may preserve these visitors, or whatever induce-
ments we may oiFer them to do so. Be all this as
it may, the Bittern should not be shot at all in this
country, or the few that still continue to visit us
in winter or on passage may ultimately be ex-
terminated, and the bird cease to be a " British "
one in any sense of the term. The Bittern, from
all accounts, was pretty generally and commonly
distributed over the British Islands " in the days
of long ago," — that is to say, in suitable localities.
56 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
. These were the swamps and bogs and fenlands,
and the drainage of these was one of the principal
causes of the bird's extermination in our land.
Possibly the esteem in which it formerly used to
be held as a table delicacy may also have been
responsible for its decrease, together with the
improvements in and increase of firearms. As
might naturally be expected, the Bittern lingered
long in the Fen districts — the last eggs being taken
in Norfolk in 1868. It is also said that a young
bird was caught in the Broad district so recently
as 1886, but whether it was bred there is not
absolutely certain. The bird also continued to
breed in Ireland down to the early part of the
nineteenth century, but now it is only known as a
winter visitor, as it is elsewhere. The Bittern has
a wide distribution outside the British Islands,
being found in all suitable localities throughout
Europe, Asia, and Africa. It does not penetrate
very far north, being unknown in Norway, and
only visiting Sweden up to the 60th parallel. In
Russia it is found up to latitude 62° ; in Asia
apparently not beyond latitude 57°.^ To Europe
^ Seebohm obtained a skin in the valley of the Yenisei in
latitude 64°, but the evidence is not conclusive that the bird was
obtained there.
THE BITTERN 57
the Bittern is principally known as a summer
visitor, though some few birds winter on the
northern shores of the Mediterranean.
The habits of a bird of such a secretive nature
as the Bittern are very difficult to observe or
understand, and little surprise can be felt at the
amount of mystery and superstition that has
surrounded them. The bird's haunts are also most
difficult of access, being by preference the vast
reed beds and swamps. Although apparently
migrating in companies, at other times the Bittern
is a remarkably solitary bird, and one that delights
to skulk amongst the cover, taking wing with
reluctance, and depending largely for safety upon
the resemblance of its brown pencilled plumage to
the vegetation in which it is hiding. The Bittern
is apparently more nocturnal in its habits than
its allies the Herons, and during the pairing season
its singular awe-inspiring cry or " boom," peculiar
to the male, is heard at intervals all through
the night — a weird, indescribable double call
said to be produced as the bird inhales and
exhales its breath and stands with neck out-
stretched and bill pointing upwards to the sky.
So curious is the sound, that the country-folk used
to say the bird produced it by blowing into a
58 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
reed or burying its long spear-shaped bill in the
mud —
Like as a Bittern that bumbleth in the mire.
The Bittern is seldom seen upon the wing, and
flies in a slow, deliberate manner, seldom for any-
great distance at a time, and always apparently
anxious to hide itself as quickly as possible. Less
rarely still is it observed to alight in a tree. Like
all the Heron tribe, the Bittern has a voracious
appetite, feeding chiefly on fish, frogs, and aquatic
insects, and occasionally on small animals ; eels a
foot or more in length have been taken from its
stomach. Upon the ground the Bittern is able to
run through the dense reeds with marvellous
celerity, its long slender feet enabling it to cross
the marshy ground with ease. Of the pairing
habits of the Bittern but little is known. The bird
is a somewhat early breeder, the eggs being laid in
April and May — sometimes towards the end of
March. The nest is made upon the ground in the
reeds and other aquatic vegetation, and is little
more than a heap of rotting reeds, flags, and other
herbage. The four or five eggs are brownish olive
or bufi! The female is said to incubate these for
the most part, and but one brood is reared in the
season. The Bittern is just as solitary during the
THE BITTERN 59
breeding season, each pair keeping to a particular
haunt. The young are said to remain in the nest
until they are able to fly.
The Bittern has the general colour of the
plumage buff, irregularly vermiculated and pencilled
on the upper parts and streaked on the lower parts
with black, which is the uniform colour of the
head and nape; the feathers of the neck are
elongated into a very conspicuous ruff. Bill and
bare space before the eye greenish yellow ; legs
and feet light green ; irides yellow. The female
and young do not differ to any great extent in
colour from the male ; and the total length of an
adult bird is about twenty-eight inches, sometimes
a trifle more or less.
THE CRANE
{g/?us CI mere a)
npHERE can be little doubt that formerly the
Crane was one of those species which not only
bred in the British Islands, but visited them in
considerable numbers to pass the winter. Whether
the individuals that bred in Britain were residents
does not, however, seem very clear. Possibly these
birds came in spring to breed in the British
marshes, and retired south again in autumn, their
places being taken during the winter by migratory
individuals from still more northern haunts, as the
Woodcock is thought by many naturalists to do to-
day. Whatever were the real facts, there is ample
evidence to show that the Crane formerly bred
commonly in the British Islands. Its principal
strongholds appear to have been the fens and
marshes of East Anglia and the bogs and morasses
of Ireland. There can be little doubt that the
Crane began to diminish as a breeding species in
60
THE CRANE 6i
the British area towards the close of the twelfth
century, continuing to do so through the three
following centuries, and finally ceasing by the end
of the sixteenth century. Simultaneously the
extermination of the Cranes that visited these
islands exclusively for the winter appears to have
been in progress. As might naturally be expected,
the indigenous or breeding birds were the first to
go ; and there is evidence to show that the Crane
still continued to visit the fens for the winter long
after it had ceased to breed within our limits.
During the latter half of the seventeenth century
the Crane was only known to Willughby and Ray
as a winter visitor in large flocks to the Lincoln-
shire and Cambridgeshire fens ; but these must
have become exterminated early in the eighteenth
century, for in 1768 Pennant informs us that the
bird was quite unknown in those counties. From
that time to the present the Crane can only be
regarded as an irregular and abnormal visitor on
migration to various parts of the British Islands,
sometimes occurring in exceptional numbers, as in
the year 1869, and drawn here, we may rest assured,
by no nostalgic impulse, but driven to our island
shores by the exigencies of their annual journeys
to destinations far remote from them. What was
62 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
the cause of this noble bird's extinction in our
islands ? Probably a potent cause was the drainage
of its marsh and fenland haunts. We know that
the eggs and nestlings of the Crane were protected
by law ; but perhaps these steps may have been
taken when the bird was already fast vanishing
from the land : however, the fact that the parent
birds were not included rendered any such provi-
sion futile in the extreme. In any case, we well
know that legal protection of such a character was
unable to save the bird from extinction; and we
should feel disposed to attribute its disappearance
as a breeding species to the destruction of its
nesting haunts and to the killing of the old birds
during the breeding season, whilst undue persecu-
tion may have also assisted in reducing the numbers
of the birds that came into our area for the winter
only. A bird so large and conspicuous, such a
noble prize, would be sure to be unduly harassed
by the fowler ; and as the favourite haunts became
smaller and more accessible to man, in spite of its
wariness the poor Crane would dwindle in numbers,
winter after winter, until all were gone. The
worst of it is, in this case, too, the Crane is absolutely
lost to us, it can never be reinstated into our fauna ;
the odd birds that visit us are abnormal migrants.
THE CRANE 63
and we may safely rest assured that the old stock
of indigenous individuals and regular winter
migrants has long passed away. We might add, in
concluding this historical survey of the Crane as a
British species, that remains of the bird have been
found in the "' kitchen middens " of Ballycotton in
County Cork.
The Crane has a very extensive range, being a
breeding species in all suitable localities throughout
Europe and Northern Asia, and wintering in
various parts of Southern Asia and Europe, and
in Africa as far south as the northern limits of
the intertropical realm. In Europe it visits the
Arctic regions to breed, as well as many localities
in South Russia, Turkey, the Danube area, Austro-
Hungary, Italy, Andalusia, Germany, Poland, and
the Baltic Provinces. In Asia it does not go quite
so far north (the Arctic Circle in the extreme west,
latitude 60° farther east), but in the south it breeds
in Turkestan, the Baikal area, and the valley of
the Amoor. Its winter home in Asia is in Persia,
Palestine, South China, and Northern India. Three
years ago Dr. Sharpe separated the Asiatic individ-
uals as Grus lilfordi,on the ground of their presumed
paler coloration, but their specific distinctness has
not been very generally recognised by naturalists.
64 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The migrations of the Crane are by no means
the least interesting portion of the bird's life
history. These migrations extend from the tropics
to the Arctic regions, and are performed at vast
heights and by great numbers of individuals flying
in company. Cranes begin to cross the Mediter-
ranean into Europe as early as February and
March, often passing over certain spots in successive
flocks, the birds trumpeting to each other as they
go. The Crane appears to migrate by day alone,
and the flocks on passage either assume the form of
a V or a "W, or each bird flies in single file. The
haunts most favoured by the Crane are extensive
swamps, full of lakes and quaking bogs, mingled
with higher and drier ground clothed with coarse
herbage, heath, and scattered bushes. Although
many of these places are entirely surrounded with
forests, the Crane shows no partiality for trees.
Few birds are more wary or more quick to detect
advancing enemies, and the stalking of a Crane in
its open haunt is almost an impossibility. Except
on passage, the Crane spends most of its time
upon the ground, walking with graceful steps, and
wading into the shallow water in quest of food. The
flight is strong and well-sustained, the big broad
wings moving in measured sequence and with the
THE CRANE 65
long neck and legs fully extended. The note is
loud, clear, and trumpet-like, capable of being heard
for immense distances. The Crane is for the most
part a vegetarian, subsisting on grain of all kinds,
grass, buds and leaves of water plants, acorns, and
other seeds ; its animal diet includes frogs, lizards,
insects, and small fish, A flock of these birds, when
feeding or resting, station sentinels to warn them
of approaching danger. The Crane is rather an
early breeder, the eggs being laid in the more
southern localities in April, a month or so later in
the far north. The huge bulky nest is placed upon
the ground or in the shallow water in the least
accessible part of the swamps and morasses ; and as
the birds are in the habit of returning annually to
the same localities to breed, they probably pair for
life. The nest, which is from two to five feet across,
is made of heather, branches, sedges, and rushes, and
lined with grass. The eggs are usually two, some-
times three in number, brownish or greenish buff
in ground colour, blotched and spotted with reddish
brown, pale brown, and grey. The female incu-
bates them, and the young birds — clothed in huffish
down — are able to run almost at once. The young
and their parents remain in company until the
migration period approaches, when these family
5
66 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
parties unite into the large flocks which are so
characteristic of the annual journeys of this magni-
ficent bird. For the remainder of the season the
Crane is gregarious, and the movements of these
winter flocks are very regular.
The adult Crane has the general colour of the
plumage slate-grey, shading into black on the quills ;
of these the innermost secondaries are very elong-
ated, and fall in graceful plumes over the tail ; from
the eye along the side of the head and the sides of
the upper neck is a white streak ; the crown is bare
of feathers, covered with scarlet warty skin ; whilst
the forehead and the lores are equally devoid of
plumage, but covered with blackish bristles. The
female closely resembles the male in colour, but the
plumes are smaller. These are entirely wanting
in the young, which have bufiish margins to the
feathers, and the bare parts of the head are clothed
with plumage. The Crane stands nearly four feet
high, and is from three to four feet in length.
THE GREAT BUSTARD
{OTIS TARDA)
nnHE knowledge that the magnificent Great
-^ Bustard was still a resident on English soil
not sixty years ago is well calculated to awaken
sad thoughts of regret in every reader who takes
an interest in our native birds, and more especially
in the preservation of disappearing or threatened
species. There is no evidence at present to suggest
that the Great Bustard ever was an inhabitant of
Ireland, whilst in the remainder of the United
Kingdom it seems to have been a local species
confined to the champaign areas, or bare and open
treeless districts. These were the Merse of Berwick-
shire, the open area of tlie Lothians, the wolds of
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, the warrens, heaths,
and brecks of Norfolk, Sufiblk, and Cambridge-
shire, and the downs and naked uplands of Dorset,
Wilts, Hants, Berks, Herts, and Sussex. Curiously
enough, the earliest description of the Great Bustard
67
68 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
in Britain is found in a work entitled A History
of Scotland, written by Hector Boethius, and
published in 1526. Since 1684 there appears to
be no evidence that the Great Bustard dwelt in
this area. Coming southwards, we find that the
last Bustards disappeared from the Yorkshire wolds
about 1826. Its final disappearance from Lincoln-
shire is not recorded, but Professor Newton states
that it probably occurred about the same time. In
Norfolk, where the bird appears to have lingered
longest, the last two examples were killed in 1838.
In Suffolk the Bustard ceased to exist in 1832 ;
whilst the first ten years of the present century
saw its extermination from Salisbury Plain in
Wilts : similar remarks apply to Dorset. From its
other English haunts it appears to have passed
away without any record whatever, although we
may mention that there is no evidence of indigen-
ous birds occurring within the present century at
all. It is somewhat difficult to account for the
extermination of the Great Bustard in Britain by
those causes which have been so disastrous in the
case of other species. The planting of trees and
the enclosure of land may have had some share in
the extinction of the Bustard, but we are inclined
more to attribute its disappearance to direct persecu-
THE GREAT BUSTARD 69
tion from man. Much of the country formerly
inhabited by this bird remains in a very similar
condition to what it was when the Bustard roamed
over it. That the bird can exist in well-cultivated
areas is proved by its presence upon some of the
most highly farmed land in the world in North
Germany ; and we can see no reason why this
species should not be perfectly at home upon such
places as the Norfolk " brecks " and the open land
of the Wiltshire downs to-day, were reasonable
protection afforded it. Another cause of its
extinction was the introduction of the corn-drill
and the horse-hoe, which led to the discovery of
its nests, and of course to their destruction by
ignorant farm labourers. The fact that the birds
moult their quills so rapidly as for some time to
be incapable of flight may also have helped in
their extinction. Had the Bustard been carefully
preserved during the breeding season, and only
killed in reasonable numbers, and its capture with
traps made illegal, there seems no reason why the
bird should not have retained its place as an
indigenous species down to the present time.
Possibly the day may come again when the Great
Bustard will be seen in the old haunts, for there is
nothing to prevent its introduction being attended
70 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
by success, if intelligently attempted, as was the
case with the Capercaillie. Its sedentaiy habits
are certainly in its favour. There can be little
doubt that the indigenous Bustards were non-
migratory. At the present time this bird is purely
an abnormal winter wanderer to Britain, some-
times arriving in exceptional numbers, as during
the winters of 1870-71, 1879-80, 1890-91.
A bird of the Bustard's wariness, gifted with
long legs and ample wings, and frequenting the
bare open country, is very well able to take care of
itself under all ordinary circumstances. Notwith-
standing this, even in some extra British localities
the bird is not so numerous as formerly, especially
in South Sweden (where, indeed, it is said to be
extinct) and Denmark. If we admit the specific
distinctness of Otis dyhowskii, found in Siberia,
China, and Japan, the range of the Great Bustard
will include Central and Southern Europe and
North-west Africa. It is said to visit Asia Minor,
North Persia, Afghanistan, and North-west India.
The favourite if not the exclusive haunts of the Great
Bustard are treeless steppes and vast grain lands.
It is more or less gregarious at all seasons, but
most so in winter, when it unites into flocks of
varying size, which roam the prairies in quest of
THE GREAT BUSTARD 71
food. A separation of the sexes into distinct
flocks has been remarked at this season. During
the summer immature birds remain in bands. In
no part of its distribution are the migrations of
this Bustard very pronounced. The bird is a very
conspicuous one on the open steppes, especially
before the grain or other herbage has grown
sufficiently high to conceal it. Like most ground
birds, it can make very good use of its legs, and if
driven to flight soon passes out of danger with
slow and deliberate beats of its ample wings. Its
food is chiefly of a vegetable character, — grain,
seeds, and the leaves and buds of plants, — but
insects, mice, lizards, and frogs are also eaten. The
usual note is a kind of grunt, and a hissing sound
is produced by both sexes when alarmed or excited.
This Bustard is said by some observers to be poly-
gamous, but the balance of evidence seems to be in
favour of monogamous habits, the birds pairing
every spring. The greater scarcity of cock birds
in England during the later years of the Bustard's
occupation may have led to the assumption that
several females lived under the protection of one
male. The display of the cock Bustard in the
pairing season is one of the most remarkable
performances of its kind among birds. The nest-
72 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
ing season is in May. The hen scrapes a hollow
either on the open steppe or amongst the growing
grain, lining it with a few bits of dry herbage.
In this she usually lays two, and occasionall}^ three
eggs, olive green or olive brown in ground colour,
spotted and blotched with reddish brown and grey.
She alone appears to incubate them. If disturbed,
she glides very quietly away, running for some
distance before taking wing. But one brood is
reared in the season.
The male Great Bustard has the head grey ; the
general colour of the upper parts is chestnut buff,
barred with black ; the primaries are black, the
remainder of the wings white ; the breast is banded
with chestnut and grey ; the remainder of the
under parts is white. There is a tuft of long white
bristly feathers or plumes on each side at the
base of the bill. The female wants these accessary
plumes, and the pectoral bands are absent. The
male also possesses in some cases (possibly in very
old birds) an air pouch or sac opening under the
tongue, but its exact use is not yet fully ascertained.
An old cock Great Bustard is from thirty-six to
forty- three inches in length, and may weigh as much
as thirtjj'-five pounds ; but the hen is considerably
smaller, not much more than half that weight.
m
H
O
O
>
THE AVOCET
{recur viros tra a voce tta )
TTERE again we have a species which has been
-^ wantonly exterminated in Britain during
the first quarter of the present century. The
records of the persecution of this beautiful and
curious bird are sad and exasperating in the
extreme. Can it be believed that at the beginning
of the nineteenth century the pretty, gentle,
inoffensive Avocet was one of our commonest
summer migrants to the fens and marshes of the
eastern counties ? Now — and for nearly eighty
years, too — it is lost to us for ever ; for no human
efforts can restore it to the Fens again ! Previous
to that date there is evidence to show that its
distribution in this country was much wider still.
At the close of the eighteenth century the Avocet
bred on Romney marshes, whilst there are earlier
records of its presence in the Severn district and
in Staffordshire. The last -known colony of
74 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Avocets was situated at Salthouse in the Fen
Country, but this was destroyed between the years
1822-25. It is recorded that the eggs were
gathered from this colony to make puddings, and
the poor birds destroyed for the sake of their
feathers, which were used to make artificial flies !
The drainage and enclosure of marsh land may
have restricted the haunts of the Avocet ; but
experience has shown that a species is not readily
extirpated by such means. To our lasting shame,
we must attribute its extinction to the senseless
persecution of the birds by man, and to the whole-
sale taking of their eggs, scientific collectors being
to some extent responsible for the calamity.
Parties of Avocets on migration still continue to
visit East Anglia, especially in spring ; but there is
every reason to believe that these arrivals are not
attempting to recolonise the deserted haunts, and
whether the birds are captured or not is quite
immaterial. We may rest assured that the bird as
a breeding species is lost to us for all time. The
fate of the British Avocets, however, might well
serve as a warning in Denmark and Holland, where
the bird is fast becoming rarer, and may eventually
become extinct if measures for its protection are
not taken in time.
THE AVOCET 75
Outside our limits the Avocet breeds on the
southern coasts of the Baltic, on the Frisian Islands
and the Dutch coast, as well as in the deltas of the
Rhone and the Guadalquivir. Thence we trace it
as a breeding species along the valley of the
Danube and amongst the lagoons of the Black Sea.
Still farther eastwards it is said to be resident in
Palestine and Persia, and to breed in various parts
of Central Asia, onwards to Dauria and Mongolia.
To India and China it is a winter visitor ; whilst
in Africa it is more or less a resident throughout
the continent, including Madagascar. The Avocet
is a migratory bird, hence the impossibility of its
ever being introduced into England by man. It
arrives in flocks at its summer quarters in Europe
during April and May, and quits them in
September. Its favourite resorts are low sandy
coasts, salt marshes, lagoons, and flat islands.
Here it may be seen near the water, or wading in
the vshallows, or even swimming across deeper
pools. It is not particularly shy, if wary, and will
allow itself to be watched walking with graceful
steps about the mud, or running over it if need
be. A too close approach will cause it to soar into
the air, where it flies with its long neck and legs
outstretched and its black and white plumage
76 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
giving it a curious aspect. At all seasons it is
gi-egarious, and the effect produced by a large flock
either standing on the mud or fluttering in the air
is very singular and pleasing. The bird obtains
its food by working its long slender upturned bill
from side to side, and this food is composed chiefly
of small worms, insects and larvse, and tiny
crustaceans, the captured morsel being swallowed
with a toss of the head. The note of this species
is a clear and softly uttered tii-it, heard most
frequently when its breeding-places are disturbed
by man.
In Western Europe the Avocet commences to
breed in May. It nests in colonies, many pairs of
birds occupying a small area of suitable ground.
The nests are little more than hollows in the sand
or mud, or amongst the short herbage, lined with
a few bits of dry herbage. The three or four
eggs are pale buff" in ground colour, spotted and
blotched with blackish brown and grey. Both
parents incubate them, and but one brood is reared
in the season.
The adult Avocet has the crown, the back of the
neck, the primaries, scapulars, and a band across
the wing from the shoulder to the end of the
innermost secondaries black ; the remainder of
THE AVOCET 77
the plumage white. In the young the plumage
is not so pure ; the black has a brown cast,
and many of the dark feathers have pale
margins. The length of this bird is about sixteen
inches.
THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT
{limosa melanura)
nnHE Black - tailed God wit is another species
-*- which the exercise of a little ordinary care
and common sense might have preserved. It seems
almost incredible that in former days this bird
was so common in East Anglia that it was regularly
fattened for the table, and held in as much as or
even greater estimation than the Woodcock is in
our own. Its chief strongholds in Britain, so far
as we possess any records, were in the fens of
Lincolnshire and Norfolk and in the Isle of Ely.
During the first quarter of the present century the
Black-tailed Godwit bred commonly in the Fens ;
it ceased to do so about the year 1829, but a nest
was found in Norfolk as recently as 1847. This
Godwit still continues to pass over the British
Islands in spring and autumn on its way to
breeding-grounds farther north, but the stock of
indigenous birds is gone, and we may safely
78
THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT 79
conclude that the species will never nest with us
again. This species furnishes another instance
confirming the fact that the supply of our
indigenous birds is not unlimited, and that if we
unduly persecute them the time is sure to come
when they will vanish from our avifauna. It is
the breeding birds that should be jealously guarded;
the winter visitors are not only better able to take
care of themselves, but as a rule are much more
numerous. So long as these individuals are not
molested at their breeding-grounds in the Faroes,
Iceland, and Scandinavia, Black-tailed Godwits
will continue to visit us on passage. These may be
met with locally on most of our coast-line, but are
commonest on the mudflats of the east and south.
Outside our limits the Black-tailed Godwit, in
addition to the localities already given, breeds in
Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Poland, Northern
Germany, and Central and Southern Russia.
Eastwards it is met with as a breeding species in
Western Turkestan, and South-west Siberia as far
as the valley of the Obb. In winter it is found on
the Spanish coasts, throughout the basin of the
Mediterranean, the coasts of the Red Sea, the
basin of the Caspian, the shores of the Persian
Gulf, and North-western India. In Asia, from the
8o LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
valley of the Yenisei eastwards, it is replaced by a
closely allied form.
Lost as the Black-tailed Godwit is to British
ornithologists, it may still be observed during the
breeding season on the opposite coasts of the North
Sea, in the marshy meadows of Holland, and in the
fenlands of Jutland — proof, if proof were wanting,
that the birds did not forsake their English haunts,
but were ruthlessly driven from them. Drainage
may have destroyed many an English breeding-
place, but there are many others left where this
bird could still have nested in peace. In Europe
the spring migration of this Godwit begins as
early as February, and continues through the two
following months, those that cross the British
Islands appearing in them in April and May.
They are seen again on migration south in August
and September, and in some places the passage
lasts until October. This Godwit not only may be
seen on tidal mudflats, but on salt marshes and
the wet portions of moors. It is not exactly a shy
bird, if a wary one, and Dr. Sharpe tells us that he
has seen it standing complacently near the muddy
dykes as the train rushed along between Rotterdam
and Amsterdam ; whilst on the Lincolnshire mud-
flats we have repeatedly watched it running
THE BLACK-TAILED GODWIT 8i
daintily about within easy gunshot. It flies well
and rapidly, like all its allies, and frequently wades
breast - high in the shallows. The food of this
species consists of worms, insects and their larvae,
snails, and the seeds, buds, and roots of various
plants. The call-note of this Godwit resembles the
syllables ty-ii-it ; whilst its cry, when alarmed at
its breeding-grounds, is a loud and clear tyu-tyil.
In Western Europe the breeding season of the
Black-tailed Godwit is in May ; occasionally eggs
may be found late in April. Numbers of nests
may be found within a small area of marsh. The
nest is made upon the ground, in a tussock of
sedge, or concealed amongst the herbage, and is
merely a hollow, lined with a little dry grass or
other vegetable refuse. The four eggs are olive
brown in ground colour, spotted and blotched with
darker olive brown, pale brown, and grey. But
one brood is reared in the season.
In breeding or summer plumage the adult male
Black-tailed Godwit has the head, neck, and breast
reddish chestnut, marked with blackish brown on
the crown and breast ; the remainder of the upper
parts (except the rump, which is white) are brown,
more or less flecked and spotted with black; the
wings are dark brown, with a conspicuous white
82 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
bar across them ; the tail is black, with a white
base ; the under parts below the breast are white,
barred with brown on the flanks. The female is
less showy than the male. In winter plumage the
general colour of both sexes is greyish brown
above and nearly white below the breast, which is
marked with dusky streaks. In winter plumage
the tail is ash grey, slightly marked at the base
with wdiite. The total length of the male of this
Godwit is about sixteen inches.
THE BLACK TERN
{sterna nigra)
TTTHETHER the extinction of this pretty Tern
" ' as a breeding species in England can be
solely attributed to the drainage of fens and marsh
lands is certainly doubtful, when we bear in mind
how so many of our remaining species of Terns
have been reduced in numbers by direct persecution
and not the destruction of breeding haunts. The
Lesser Tern is a sad example of this, and the
greatest care will have to be exercised if we do not
want to see it overtaken by the same lamentable
fate. The Black Tern was formerly an abundant
summer visitor to the fens and marshy lands of
East Anglia; the drainage of these has curtailed
its haunts, and in many places no doubt destroyed
them. The last eggs of which any record has
been kept appear to have been taken in 1858 in
Norfolk. It is interesting to know that a few
pairs of Black Terns appear annually in the districts
84 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
the species frequented in such numbers years
ago, and it is not improbable that these may
be survivors of the old indigenous stock. They
should be protected and encouraged, in the forlorn
hope that the species may re-establish itself in this
country. The fens and low grounds of East
Anglia too long remained the happy hunting-
ground of the fowler and the egg-gatherer, who
have been permitted to destroy and take at any
and every season, with the inevitable result that
all true naturalists have now to deplore. In other
parts of the British Islands the Black Tern can
only be regarded as an accidental wanderer on
abnormal migration. Outside our limits this Tern
breeds as far north, as Esthonia, thence southwards
in the Baltic Provinces, Prussia, South Scandinavia,
Denmark, Holland, France, the Iberian Peninsula,
and eastwards through Central and Southern
Europe to the Caspian. South of the Mediterranean
it breeds in North Africa, excepting Egypt ; whilst
its Asiatic range includes South-western Siberia
and Turkestan, east to the Altai. In winter this
Tern is found as far south in Africa as the
northern portion of the intertropical realm.
The Black Tern is a regular migrant to Western
Europe, reaching its breeding quarters in May.
THE BLACK TERN 85
Its habits are very similar to those of allied birds.
It spends most of its time in the air, gracefully
flitting to and fro, dropping every now and then
to the surface of the water to pick up some food.
When on migration it may be seen flying along
shore, but at other times it prefers to frequent
fens, salt marshes, and swamps, and large sheets of
water where the shallows are choked with reeds
and rushes, and the alder trees form almost im-
penetrable thickets. At all times of the year it
appears to be gregarious, and during summer lives
in colonies of varying size to rear its young. The
food of this Tern consists largely of insects, small
fish, and other aquatic creatures, worms and grubs.
The note is a shrill crrick, sometimes prolonged
into crree. The nests of the Black Tern are made
amongst the reeds in the shallow water, or on
clumps of sedge and grass on the spongy ground
of the surrounding marshes. They are bulky
structures, like heaps of decaying vegetation, made
of rotten reeds and sedges, and the hollow lined
with dry grass. The eggs are three in number,
and vary from buff" to olive brown in ground
colour, heavily marked with reddish brown,
blackish brown, pale brown, and grey. Both
parents assist in their incubation. When disturbed,
86 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
the birds rise in fluttering crowds from the ground,
with noisy cries of remonstrance, and continue to
fly to and fro above their nests until the danger
has passed. But one brood is reared in the season ;
and a movement south may be observed soon after
the young can fly, the passage of this species
extending from August to October,
The adult Black Tern in summer plumage has
the head, neck, breast, and belly black ; the under
tail coverts white ; the remainder of the plumage
dark grey. In winter plumage the forehead,
throat, and lores are white, and the under parts are
more or less mottled with white. Young birds
have the upper parts, especially on the head and
back, mottled with brown. The length of this
small Tern is about ten inches.
PLATE IV.
G R EAT AUKS
THE GREAT AUK
{alca impennis)
rriHE species we have hitherto mentioned have
become extinct in the British Islands only,
their extermination being of a local character ;
but the present bird excites a wider melancholy
interest, for there can be little doubt that it
has ceased to exist altogether. Many erroneous
opinions prevail not only respecting the geographical
distribution of the Great Auk, but the cause of its
extirpation. As most readers may know, the Great
Auk was incapable of flight. The bird was nearly
as big as an ordinary tame Goose, but closely
resembled a Razorbill in general appearance, except
that its short narrow wings were quite incapable
of bearing it through the air. If useless for flight,
these wings were used with marvellous power as
oars, and the bird was a most accomplished
swimmer and diver. This inability of the wings
for flight was due to the abortive character of the
87
88 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
bones of the forearm and hand, the humerus being
proportionately as long as in the existing species
of Auks, all of which are able to fly. As Mr. Lucas
(one of the ablest historians of the Great Auk) points
out, this modification of structure, however un-
fortunate it proved to its possessor, was correlated
with the bird's aquatic habits ; the resistance of
water being much greater than that of air, a wing-
requiring less surface and more power than one
formed exclusively for aerial locomotion would be
best adapted for submarine flight.
Respecting the geographical distribution of the
Great Auk, the impression widely prevails that the
bird was an inhabitant of the Arctic regions ; and
more than one naturalist has suggested that the
lost species may still be found in the Polar solitudes.
Vain hope, with not a shred of evidence to support
it ! So far as is known, the Great Auk was confined
to the North Atlantic, and there is no reliable
evidence whatever that the bird ranged anywhere
within the Arctic Circle.^ On the eastern shores of
the North Atlantic the bird ranged from Iceland
to the Bay of Biscay, breeding certainly in the
^ Professor Eeinhardt says that there is doubt attaching to the
locality of the specimea (uow in the Copenhagen Museum) from
Greenland, reputed to be from Fiskernas, above the Arctic Circle.
THE GREAT AUK 89
Icelandic area, and possibly on the Faroes, the
Orkneys, and some of the Norwegian islands.^
There is little evidence to suggest that the Great
Auk ever bred in any numbers, if at all, on St.
Kilda, Martin's statements notwithstanding. On
the western shores of the North Atlantic its range
extended from Greenland to Virginia, but the actual
breeding stations were few and far between.
There can be no doubt that the grand headquarters
of the Great Auk were on the American side of the
Atlantic, and there the most important station of
which we have any evidence at present was on Funk
Island, off Newfoundland, although other breeding-
places were possibly located along the coasts of
Labrador and South Greenland. In European
waters Iceland appears to have been the principal
resort of the Great Auk, and from here most of the
specimens of birds and eggs now in existence were
obtained. Here the colony was located on several
rocky islets situated some twenty-five miles to the
south-west of the main island, the birds continuing
to be fairl}'- numerous, although harassed from
time to time by collectors and others. But mis-
fortune seems to have settled upon the Great Auk,
^ Apparent remains of an egg have been discovered recently
near Falsterbo, in South Sweden.
go LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Nature herself hastening Hb doom in volcanic dis-
turbances, which in March 1830 caused the principal
breeding reef — the Geirfuglasker — to disappear
beneath the waves, and compel the surviving birds
to take up fresh quarters. Most of them appear
to have selected the islet of Eldey — a very un-
fortunate choice, for this reef was situated much
nearer to the main island, and was far more
accessible to man. Here, within a period of
fourteen years, every bird was killed, the last pair
being captured early in June 1844, and forming
the final record of the species in Europe. Coming
now to British waters, we find it stated that two
centuries ago the Great Auk was a regular summer
visitor to St. Kilda, although, as previously stated,
we doubt if the bird ever was established there in
any numbers, the islets being for the most part
very precipitous, and unsuited to its requirements.
A bird, however, was caught there — in autumn be
it remarked — as recently as 1821 or 1822 ; and we
ourselves in 1884 were assured by an old inhabitant
of the islands that a Great Auk was stoned to death
as an " evil spirit " on Stack-an-Armin about half
a century previous, he himself assisting in the
massacre ! In 1812, Bullock saw a Great Auk at
Papa Westray in the Orkneys, and tried to shoot it
THE GREAT AUK 91
without success, although the poor unfortunate
was killed the following year, preserved, and sent
to him. This specimen is now in the British
Museum. The hen bird of this pair had been
killed previous to Bullock's visit. One other
British example was caught in a landing-net in
Waterford harbour in May 1834, and is now
preserved in Trinity College Museum, Dublin.
Other evidence of the Great Auk's former existence
in Ireland is presented in its remains found in
some numbers on the coast of Antrim,^ with those
of the horse, dog, and wolf, and more recently in a
" kitchen midden " in the county of Waterford.
Remains of this bird have also been found in the
superficial deposits in the Cleadon Hills in Durham,
as well as at Oronsay and Caithness.
We now turn to the story of the Great Auk's
extirpation in America, — a record of wanton cruelty
and carnage that would be hard to beat, — " countless
myriads of this flightless fowl," says Mr. Lucas,
" hunted to the death with the murderous instincts
and disregard for the morrow so characteristic of
the white race." Although there is evidence to
suggest that the bird was formerly abundant at
^ Irish Naturalist, vol. v. p. 121 : Proc. R. I. A. (3) iii. pp.
650-663.
92 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Penguin Islands, off the southern coast of Newfound-
land, Funk Island must have been the site of the
most important colony. This latter locality was
specially visited by Mr. Lucas in July 1887, on
board the U.S. Fish Commission steamer Grampus,
and from his intensely interesting accounts we
will quote the following particulars.^ Here, on
the southern half of the island, " the Auk bred
in peace, undisturbed by man, until that fateful
day . . . when Cartier's crews inaugurated the
slaughter, which only terminated with the existence
of the Great Auk. The history of the Great Auk in
America may be said to date from 1534, when, on
May 21, two boats' crews from Cartier's vessels
landed on Funk Island, and, as we are told, ' in lesse
than halfe an hour we filled two boats full of them,
as if they had been stones. So that besides them
which we did eat fresh, every ship did powder and
salt five or sixe barrels of them.' The Great
Auk having thus been apprised of the advent of
civilisation in the regular manner, continued to be
utilised by all subsequent visitors. The French
fishermen depended very largely on the Great Auks
to supply them with provisions ; passing ships
touched at Funk Island for supplies ; the early
1 Report U.S. Nat. Mus. 1887-88 ; op. cil. 1889.
THE GREAT AUK 93
colonists barrelled them up for winter use, and the
great abundance of the birds was set forth among
other inducements to encourage emigration to
Newfoundland. The immense numbers of the
Auks may be inferred from the fact that they
withstood these drains for more than two centuries,
although laying but a single egg, and consequently
increasing but slowly under the most favourable
circumstances. Finally someone conceived the idea
of killing the Garefowl for their feathers, and this
sealed its fate. When and where the scheme
originated, and how long the slaughter lasted, we
know not, for the matter is rather one of general
report than of recorded fact, although in this
instance circumstantial evidence bears witness to
the truth of Cartwright's statement, that it was
customary for several crews of men to pass the
summer on Funk Island solely to slay the Great
Auks for their feathers. That the birds were slain
by millions, that their bodies were left to moulder
where they were killed, that stone pens were
erected, and that for some purpose frequent and
long-continued fires were built on Funk Island,
is indisputable." The final extinction of the Great
Auk in America was almost coincident with its
extirpation in Europe, the work of slaughter going
94 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
steadily on " until the last of the species had dis-
appeared from the face of the earth, and the place
to which it resorted for untold ages knew it no
more." Mr. Lucas obtained the most ample
evidence of the bird's former abundance. He tells
us that " on the northerly slope a stroke of the
hoe anywhere M^ould bring to light at least a score
of bones " ; and again, " while many humeri were
thrown aside while digging, the collection was
found to contain over fourteen hundred specimens
of this bone." The material brought back by him
was estimated to be greater than that obtained by
all other expeditions combined, and to include
nearly two barrels of bones, from which ten or
eleven skeletons of the Great Auk have been made
up. Previous to the visit of Mr. Lucas to Funk
Island, but two naturalists had explored the place.
Stuvitz went there in 1841, and discovered some
bones ; Professor Milne visited the island in 1874,
and after an hour's work brought away bones
belonging to some fifty birds and the inner linings
of several eggs ; whilst nine years previous to the
latter naturalist's visit, an expedition sent out for
guano procured three " mummies " or dried bodies
of the Great Auk.
The extinction of this noble bird is all the more
THE GREAT AUK 95
to be regretted when we bear in mind that it was
absolutely avoidable and unnecessary, and was in
no remote way due to those economic and industrial
changes which have deprived so many other species
of a home. Here in the present case we find no
invasion by civilisation of favourite haunts, no
destruction for the sake of improvement of time-
honoured breeding-grounds, no increase of popula-
tion to exterminate timid creatures, but simply
a cruel and wanton massacre of poor helpless and
defenceless birds for the sake of commercial greed
and gain that really could have had very little
value. The extermination that went on in Iceland
in an era of greater intellectual activity has even
less to defend it ; for there the latest survivors of
the Great Auk were captured to supply various
scientific institutions in Europe, so that literally its
extirpation was countenanced and approved by
and was undertaken in the name of Science ! There
was no reason whatever why the Great Auk should
not have survived and even flourished in our own
day. It is true the bird was comparatively help-
less, but its inability to escape from enemies only
prevailed during the nesting season, when the poor
bird was engaged in duties that should have
ensured for it immunity from harm. At all other
96 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
times it was practically safe in its natural element
the sea. Regrets are useless now ; and when the
few relics that are in existence have mouldered
away, the Great Auk will fade from our memories,
live but as a tradition, and finally perhaps as a
legend or a myth !
Notwithstanding the former abundance of the
Great Auk, and its comparatively recent final dis-
appearance, but very little indeed is known respect-
ing its habits. These, there can be little doubt,
were very similar to those of its surviving allies,
especially of the Razorbill, its nearest living
relation. We know that it was an accomplished
diver, we also know that it lived on fish ; but of
its notes, its nesting habits, its migrations, and the
like, history is silent, and records are wanting.
The breeding-places of this species were flat rocks
that sloped gently to the sea, and the single egg
was, it is presumed, laid nestless on the ground.
This egg runs through similar variations to those
of the Razorbill, but is, of course, double the size.
The number of eggs at present known to exist is
seventy-one. There are also seventy-seven skins of
the Great Auk in various collections, together with
many more or less complete skeletons and large
numbers of odd bones.
THE GREAT AUK 97
The Great Auk has the general colour of the
upper parts, including the wings, black ; the second-
aries are tipped with white ; the tail is black ; the
throat is black ; the remainder of the under parts
white, as is also a large patch on each side of the
face between the base of the bill and the eye.
Bill similar to that of the Razorbill, but the white
grooves not quite so conspicuous. In winter the
throat became white, as in the Razorbill. The length
of the Great Auk was about twenty-five inches.
VANISHING BRITISH BIRDS
■3^
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE
{PANURUS BIARMICUS)
nnHE birds we now come to deal with are
-^ fortunately still indigenous to the British
Islands, although they are present in sadly
diminished numbers, and are all more or less
threatened with extinction in our area unless
eiforts are taken to preserve them and senseless
persecution is relaxed. Our first species is the
Bearded Titmouse, although why it should be
called a " Titmouse " is hard to say ; for its habits,
characteristics, and organisation show little or no
direct relationship with the group, and its true
affinities remain yet to be discovered. This
charming little bird is not only one of the prettiest,
but one of the most interesting of our native
98
PLATE V.
BEARDED TITS
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE 99
species. It is also one of the most local. We have
evidence to show that formerly the Bearded Tit-
mouse occupied a much wider area in England
than is now the case. This area included Lincoln-
shire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk,
Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Sussex (possibly Hants),
Dorset, and Devonshire. Probably it also occupied
suitable districts in the valley of the Thames, even
as far as Gloucestershire. At the present day this
range is sadly curtailed, and only includes the
counties of Devon, Suffolk (possibly), and Norfolk.
When we come to investigate the causes of such
rapid and wholesale restriction of area, we find it
directly attributable to the destruction by drainage
and enclosure of haunts, and to the direct per-
secution of man. We know that vast areas where
this bird formerly dwelt have been improved away ;
the forests of reeds and the wet lands have
vanished, and with them have gone the Bearded
Titmouse. But this can only explain part of the
extinction of the species. There are many wide
areas left that the bird was known at one time to
inhabit, but which are now apparently deserted,
and these haunts have been decimated in the
interests of collectors. Not only have marsh men
taken every nest they could fuid, but the parent
loo LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
birds have been captured too. Here again we find
the supply of birds limited and unable to fill the
demand. Not only so : the Bearded Titmouse is a
resident species, strictly confined to its native reed
beds, so that when the British stock becomes
exhausted the bird will pass out of our fauna
completely, as so many other interesting forms
have already done. We are heartily glad to hear
that in some districts measures are being taken for
the better protection of the Bearded Titmouse.
We trust that these may prove successful, be more
generally applied, and strictly enforced ; for there
is evidence to show that the bird in some districts
especially is rapidly diminishing in numbers. We
appeal to the owners of the reed beds frequented
by this species to preserve it from extinction, and
hope that local Natural History Societies will
exert their widespread influence in the good cause.
Beyond the British area the Bearded Titmouse
has a most extensive range, being found over a
great part of Europe and Asia, at least as far east
as North-eastern Thibet. We find it an inhabit-
ant of the reed beds of Holland, Pomerania, and
Hungary, in France in the marshes of the Rhone
and Narbonne, in Spain, eastwards to Italy, South
Ruvssia, Turkestan, and South Siberia. To Holland
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE loi
and Germany it is said to be a summer visitor only,
but further information is desired. Examples of
this species become paler towards the eastern
limits of its distribution, and Central Asian birds
were described by Bonaparte as Panurus sibiricus.
As birds almost if not quite as pale may be met
with in the extreme western areas, this form can
only be regarded as sub-specifically distinct. We
have no record of the Bearded Titmouse south of
the Mediterranean or north of Pomerania, whilst it
is extremely rare and local in the Levant.
The favourite, we might almost say the exclusive
haunts of the Bearded Titmouse are reed beds. In
England these are few and far between nowadays.
It is a somewhat secretive species, skulking
amongst the reeds and sedges when too closely
approached, although sometimes seen flitting across
the open waterways in an uncertain, undulatory
manner, or clinging to some tall bending stem.
During autumn and winter the Bearded Titmouse,
or " Reed Pheasant," as it is locally termed in the
Broad district, lives in flocks and parties of varying
size, which roam about the reed forests in quest
of food ; but in spring and summer it is met with
in pairs alone. Seebohm, who specially visited the
Broads to observe the habits of this bird, describes
I02 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
its note as a musical 'ping, its alarm-note a harsh,
Whitethroat-like chir-r-r-r, and its cry of distress
a plaintive ee-ar-ee-ar. The food of the Bearded
Titmouse is composed in summer of insects and
tiny molluscs ; in winter, of the seeds of the reed
and other plants. Of the pairing habits of this
species nothing definite is known. Its nesting
season begins in April, and is prolonged until July,
two broods being reared in the year. The nest is
generally made beneath the shelter of a tuft of
sedge or other coarse aquatic herbage, well con-
cealed by overhanging vegetation. It is cup-shaped,
rather deep, and made externally of dry grass,
dead leaves, bits of reed, and scraps of withered
aquatic plants ; internally of finer grass and the
flowers of the reed. The eggs are from five to
seven, creamj'- white in ground colour, freckled
with irregular lines and specks of dark brown.
From these few particulars it may be remarked
that the Bearded Titmouse is somewhat prolific,
and we believe would hold its ground and steadily
increase if reasonable protection were aflforded it.
The adult male Bearded Tit has the head delicate
lavender grey; the lores and a tuft of drooping,
moustache-like feathers on either side of the gape
are black ; the general colour of the upper parts is
THE BEARDED TITMOUSE 103
rufous brown, shading into pinkish brown on the
upper tail coverts ; and the tail feathers are tipped
with dull white, the outermost feathers with a
margin also of the same tint ; the wings are dark
brown, the primaries with white margins and tips,
the secondaries with rich rufous ones, the scapulars
rusty white ; the lesser wing coverts greyish
brown, the greater ones black, both tipped with
rufous, and the latter margined with the same.
The throat and breast are grey, with a rosy flush ;
the centre of the belly is pale buff"; the flanks are
rufous brown, the under tail coverts black. The
bill and irides are yellow. The female is not so
brilliantly coloured ; the black on the head and the
moustache are wanting, and the under tail coverts
are rufous. Young birds resemble the female in
colour, and have the crown and back streaked with
black. The total length of this bird is about six
inches.
THE ST. KILDA WREN
{troglodytes hirtensis)
T)ERHAPS we may be forgiven for taking an
exceptional interest in the fate of this bird ;
for we had the pleasure of ascertaining that it
differed in certain respects from the Wren found in
other parts of the British Islands. In 1884, when
we brought the first known specimen from St.
Kilda, the bird was common enough on all the
islands of the group, and its cheery song could be
heard everyAvhere. No sooner, however, was its
specific distinctness pointed out by Seebohm in the
Zoologist and by ourselves in the Ihis, than it
became a coveted object by collectors of British
birds and eggs, and specimens of both were eagerly
sought. The natives of St. Kilda, urged on by the
greed of gain, were not slow to take advantage of
such an opportunity for making money, and the
species has suffered sorely in consequence. That it
will ultimately become as extinct as the Great Auk
THE ST. KILDA WREN 105
which once frequented these Atlantic isles, is
certain unless strong measures are taken by the
proprietor of the islands for its protection. Many
pairs, there can be little doubt, still frequent the
uninhabited portion of the group ; so that, if proper
steps be taken, we may succeed in saving from
extinction so interesting an example of an island
race of the familiar Wren. Our discovery seems
always clouded with the exterminating results that
have followed it, and when we hear of the poor
bird's decimation we feel that, in the interests of
science, it would have been better had we remained
silent. It is sad to think that the publication of
such knowledge resulted in absolutely threatening
the extirpation of the St. Kilda Wren, and that
by calling attention to its differences we have been
the unintentional means of its being sacrificed
to the greed and selfishness of collectors. We
appeal to British naturalists to save this island
form of the Common Wren from extirpation,
threatened as it is by no other danger than that
arising from the mania for possessing its eggs and
its skin. The wholesale collecting of specimens by
St. Kildans, and by tourists that visit the islands
in summer, when the bird is breeding, must be
sternly forbidden if the Wren is to be saved.
io6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The following account of the habits of the St.
Kilda Wren was the first published, and was con-
tributed by us to the Ibis : — " I had not been on
St. Kilda long before the little bird arrested my
attention, as it flew from rock to rock, or glided in
and out of the crevices of the walls. It diflers
very little in its habits from its congener; only,
instead of hopping restlessly and incessantly about
brushwood, it has to content itself with boulders
and walls. It was in full song, and its voice
seemed to me louder and more powerful than that
of the Common Wren. I often saw it within a few
feet of the sea, hopping about the rocks on the
beach ; and a pair had made their nest in the wall
below the manse, not thirty yards from the waves.
I also saw it frequently on the tops of the hills
and in many parts of the cliffs. It was especially
common on Doon, and its cheery little song
sounded from all parts of the rocks. As tliere are
no bushes nor trees on St. Kilda (except those the
microscopic eye of a botanist might discover), the
Wren takes to the luxuriant grass, sorrel, and other
herbage growing on the cliffs, and picks its insect
food from them. It also catches spiders and the
larviB of different insects in the nooks and crannies
which it is incessantly exploring. It is a pert,
THE ST. KILDA WREN 107
active little bird, by no means shy ; and I used to
watch a pair that were feeding their young in a
nest not six yards from our door. Its breeding
season must commence early in May, for the young
were three parts grown by the beginning of June.
It makes its nest either in one of the numerous
' cleats,' or in a crevice of a wall, or under an
overhanging bank. The nest is exactly similar to
that of the Common Wren, and abundantly lined
with feathers. The eggs are six in number,
perceptibly larger and more heavily marked than
those of the Common Wren, but otherwise closely
resembHng them. I found the birds remarkably
tame at the nest, going in and out as I stood
watching them. Probably two broods are reared
in the season."
The St. Kilda Wren somewhat closely resembles
the Common Wren in appearance, but is larger,
more distinctly barred on the upper parts, and has
much stouter feet. The variations of plumage due
to age, sex, and season are not known to differ in
any important respect from those of the allied
forms.
THE HOOPOE
{UPUPA EPOPS)
TjlOR two centuries or more this beautiful and
-■- curious bird has been known to visit the
British Islands in spring to breed. There can be
little or no doubt that in the olden times the
Hoopoe was commoner and more widely dispersed
than it is now, and that, like so many other
interesting species, it has been well-nigh exter-
minated for the sake of its beauty or novel and
curious appearance. The British stock of Hoopoes,
however, does not yet seem to be quite exhausted,
and we may still regard the bird as a regular spring
migrant to the southern counties of England. We
must, however, bear in mind that the constant
persecution which the species suffers in our islands,
the failure to rear offspring in them, must sooner
or later end in the complete extirpation of the
Hoopoe as a British bird. We doubt not that
careful preservation for a few years would end in
io8
THE HOOPOE 109
complete reinstation of the species, and stock our
southern English counties with Hoopoes, which
might eventually spread northwards ; for the bird
breeds on the Continent as far north as South
Sweden and Denmark. The Hoopoe has absolutely
been known to breed in Devon, Dorset, Wilts,
Hants, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent. To other parts
of the British Islands the Hoopoe, at present, can
only be regarded as an abnormal migrant, although
the evidence seems to show that in the south of
Ireland the bird may be a normal spring migrant,
only requiring a little judicious preservation to
establish it as a regular breeding species. When
we read that no less than seven of these charming
birds fell to one gun in a week on a single Sussex
estate, or that a certain spot in Kent, apparently
in the direct line of migration, is notorious for its
butchery of Hoopoes, we may reasonably protest
and demand that such slaughter shall cease. We
fear that legislation is powerless without public
co-operation, and this surely need not be asked in
vain in such a compassionate age as ours ! Un-
fortunately, the Hoopoe is a very conspicuous bird,
and also a confiding and unsuspicious one, easily
approached and shot.
Outside our limits the Hoopoe has an exceedingly
no LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
wide distribution, extending from Denmark in the
west to Japan in the east, and from South Sweden
and Central Asia to tropical Africa, India, and
South China. It is found in suitable localities
throughout Central and Southern Europe, and is
very common in all Mediterranean countries and
the Canary and adjoining islands. The Hoopoe is
a summer visitor to Europe, arriving from Febru-
ary onwards, and usually reaching the south of
England in April. The return passage takes place
during August, September, and October. Its
favourite haunts in Europe are well - cultivated
districts, the fields on the borders of woods, and the
more open parts of forest lands ; but in Algeria I
found it dwelling on the bare hillsides, as well as
in the palm-studded oases, where the Arabs let it
run about outside their houses and tents without
any attempt to molest it. It Ls an active, graceful
little bird, and may often be watched strutting
about in quest of food on the dunghill or newly-
tilled land. In its summer quarters in Europe it
shows much more partiality for cover than in its
winter ones in Africa. Its note is a hollow, deep,
and full-sounding iwo-poo-poo, or hoop-ltoop-hoo]),
capable of being heard for a long distance. Its
principal food consists of insects, worms, and grubs.
THE HOOPOE III
The flight of this species is undulating, like that of
a Wagtail or a Woodpecker, and when in the air the
bird becomes even more conspicuous, as its parti-
coloured plumage is fully displayed. The Hoopoe
probably pairs for life, and appears to return to a
certain spot annually to breed. The nest is usually
made in a hole in a rock, or a wall or tree, but
is never excavated by the birds. It is merely a
small collection of dry grass, straws, or roots, more
or less mixed with offensive matter of some kind,
and causing a fearful stench, which becomes even
worse as the droppings of old and young accumu-
late. The eggs are from five to seven in number,
and vary from pale greenish blue to lavender grey
and buff, and are without markings. The shell is
coarse and full of minute hollows. The female
alone incubates them, and the male is said to feed
her assiduously during the task. But one brood
is reared in the year, and after the breeding season
the birds often gather into small flocks and family
parties for the winter.
The adult Hoopoe has the head decorated with
a very handsome erectile crest formed of broad
feathers, huffish chestnut tipped with black, and
with a narrow subterminal bar of white ; the
remainder of the upper half of the bird is chestnut
112 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
buff, darkest on the back, aud suffused with pink on
the breast ; the lower half of the bird is curiously
pied. The lower back, scapulars, and innermost
secondaries are buff, marked with black ; the flight
feathers are black, broadly barred with white ; the
rump is white ; the tail is black, with a broad white
band across the centre and spreading towards the
tips of the outer feathers ; the belly and under tail
coverts are white ; the flanks are streaked with
dark brown. The female is a trifle smaller and
duller, as are also the young. The total length of
this bird is about ten inches.
THE OSPREY
(PANDION HALI^ETUS)
TT is rather a remarkable fact that not a single
species of raptorial bird has been exterminated
in the British area within the historical period.
Of all species, the birds of prey have been subject
to the greatest amount of steady and persistent
persecution, and yet they have managed to survive.
Many of them, however, once common and widely
distributed, have become excessively local ; others
that formerly bred in England now only survive
in the wilder areas of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
Generally speaking, birds of prey are thinly dis-
tributed, not collected in certain spots like more
gregarious species; and there can be little doubt
that to this fact they owe their survival. There
is a great falling off in the number of most
raptorial species, owing to the systematic trapping,
poisoning, and shooting which has gone on ever
since the preserving of game has been so widely
8 "3
114 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
practised ; their eggs have been persistently sought
and taken, their young destroyed ; and yet, in spite
of all, not a single indigenous species has suc-
cumbed absolutely, although it may have been
extirpated in many districts. We heartily hope
that more sensible opinions will shortly prevail
concerning the economic value of many of these
raptorial species, and that, duly protected, they
will become more numerous, to the benefit of the
agriculturist.
The Osprey, if tradition is to be believed,
once bred upon the southern coast of England;
whilst a hundred years ago, upon the authority
of Heysham, it bred in the Lake District, near
Ullswater. Forty years ago two eyries were
known to exist in Galloway ; but at the present
time we believe the sole stronghold of the Osprey
is in the Highlands — fortunately in districts where
the bird is protected and its haunts kept secret.
Perhaps in time this privacy may not be necessary,
but nowadays the Osprey retains its place in our
fauna with such a slender hold that naturalists
•cannot be too careful in guarding its last retreats
from the intrusion of the bribing collector of rare
birds and eggs. Certainly, so far as Scotland is
concerned, we cannot attribute the present rarity
THE OSPREY 115
of the Osprey to the destruction of its haunts, and
we are compelled to assign the direct persecution
by man as the reason of its untimely disappear-
ance. Not only has the bird been robbed of its
eggs and young and shot in Scotland, but numbers
continue to fall victims to the gunner in more
southern districts whilst performing their annual
migrations. As a visitor on passage, and especially
in autumn, the Osprey is fairly well known in
various parts of the British area, both near inland
waters as well as along the rivers and coasts,
especially of the eastern and southern counties.
Unfortunately, too many of these Ospreys are killed,
and we would forbid the shooting of this species
within British limits altogether. To Ireland the
Osprey is an abnormal migrant only. Beyond the
British area the Osprey has an exceedingly wide
distribution, breeding in all suitable localities
throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and
Australia, although the birds inhabiting the latter
area present differences which may have a sub-
specific value. In Europe it may be met with,
breeding from Lapland to the Iberian Peninsula,
and from North Russia to the Caspian ; whilst
south of the Mediterranean it nests in many parts
of North Africa, from the Canaries (where it is
ii6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
said to be a resident) to the Red Sea. It is a
summer migrant in the northern portions of its
range, and a winter one in many of the southern
limits.
Of all the raptorial birds the Osprey is the
most aquatic in its habits, and its haunts are
always more or less close to waters well stocked
with fish. In our islands the favourite haunts
of this bird are the wild mountain deer forests, the
hill-surrounded lochs and quiet lakes studded with
islands, on many of which some ancient fortress
or ruined tower tells of warlike deeds of the long
ago. Although many of these secluded Highland
waters literally teem with fish, the Osprey is far
too rare a bird to be seen near them in any
numbers, an isolated pair here and there being
all ; but in North America, where the species is a
much more abundant one, large colonies of these
birds may frequently be met with. The Osprey
reaches its breeding-grounds in Scotland in April
or May. We have had few opportunities of
studying this bird in a wild state ; but we can
vividly recall our first sight of the Osprey in its
native land, close to the head-waters of Loch
Carron. The bird was about thirty feet above the
water, passing along, hovering every now and then
THE OSPREY 117
with quivering wings, alternated with rapid beats,
as is so often the way of our better-known Kestrel.
Finally we watched it poise for a moment and
drop down, Gannet-like, into the water, the noise
as it struck the surface being distinctly audible
from the shore. The bird rose again in a few
seconds, and slowly retired to a distant clump of
trees, but whether it had caught a fish or not we
were unable to determine. In its search for prey
the Osprey is very Gull-like, but of course seizes
its food with its feet, and not with its bill. This
food is composed of fish, such as trout, roach,
bream, shad, flounders, etc. These are always
captured with the feet, the soles of which are
very rough, and the long claws exceptionally
sharp. The note of the Osprey has been described
as kai-kai-kai, and when alarmed the bird is said
to utter a harsh scream.
The Osprey most probably pairs for life, and
returns to one locality to breed year after year.
In the Highlands nowadays the nest is generally
made on the broad flat top of a pine tree, but
formerly it was as frequently placed on ruins or
rocks on islands. The nest is an immense pile of
sticks, the accumulation of years, perhaps as much
as four feet high and as many broad, intermixed
ii8 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
with turf and lined with green grass. Sometimes
several nests are made in one locality, and used
in turn. The two or three eggs are very handsome,
white or pale buff in ground colour, heavily blotched
and spotted — sometimes so densely as to conceal
the pale ground — 'with rich reddish brown, orange
brown, and grey. But one brood is reared in the
season. It is said that the Osprey will savagely
attack an intruder of its nest. Professor Newton
says that men and boys have had their heads gashed
with the sharp claws of the enraged parent bird.
In North America as many as three hundred
nests have been found in trees close together.
The Osprey has the head and nape white,
streaked with brown, some of the feathers being
elongated. The general colour of the rest of the
upper parts is dark brown, occasionally shot with
purple ; the under parts are white, except a band
of brown spots across the breast. The female is
similar to the male in colour, but she is slightly
larger, and the head and breast are more marked
with brown. Young birds resemble the female
in colour. The total length of the Osprey is
about twenty-three inches.
PLATE VI.
THE KIT
THE KITE
{MILVUS REGALIS)
fTlO realise the amount of persecution that
raptorial birds have suffered in the British
Islands, we have only to recall the days when the
present species was spoken of by old writers on
Natural History as one of the most abundant and
widely distributed of our indigenous birds. Old
records inform us that four or five hundred years
ago the Kite literally swarmed in London, and
that the bird was actually protected by law within
the precincts of the City ! Indeed, the Kite was
formerly held in esteem for its good offices as a
scavenger. We have Belon's testimony that he
found the Kite scarcely less numerous in London
than in Cairo, and that it cleared the streets and
the river of garbage and refuse. Further, the
many allusions, both poetical and otherwise, to the
Kite in our literature eloquently speaks to the
bird's former abundance. Even less than a hundred
I20 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
3'('!irs a<j^() llio Kite \v;is hy no inojinH a rare bird ;
I'loiii wliat we can ^j^atlu'r, the bird wan a by no
uienns unfaniiliai' object in the rural scenes of
Kn^land, Mo.-itin*^ liiijjli i)i air above the fields and
woods, indiil<^in<r in those magnificent flights which
justly trained I'oi" it tlie name of dead or Glide
Hawk. Turnc'r tells us that the Kite even
snatcheil I'ood from the hands of children in our
towns — a fact whieh provt's how little subject to
persecution the bird nuist have been, and how
bold and impudent it became in consequence,
liut. as the present century sped its course, the
preservation of <j^ame became more «;eneral and
more strict, fireainis were improved, and the Kite
nnist very rapidly have decreased in numbers.
The decay of hawkino- nmst also have had an evil
eH'ect ; for the Kite was a prized (juarry, and
])reservcd accordingly. As the bird became rarer,
the collector of e<^gs and skins must also be
included as an exterminating agent; whilst in
Scotland the bird was being ruthlessly killed for
the sake of its tail feathers, which were highly
prized for the purpose of making salmon ilies.
The result of all this persecution is that the Kite
has become one of the very rarest of our indigenous
birds. It is still left to us, still lingers in one or
THE KITF 121
two localities, but there can be; no doubt that the
specica will become extinct in our area unless
great care be exercised. There can be little doubt
that the Kite breeds in few parts of England at
the present time, one of the las(, recorded nests
being taken in Lincolnshire twiMity-seven years
ago. It, however, atill continues to breed in Wales,
and in one or two localities in Scotland ; whilst
Professor Newton states that it nests at the present
time in certain woods in lluntinjxdonshire and
Lincolnshire, and in th(^ Western Midlands. 1'he
Kite never seems to have been indigenous to
Ireland ; and nowadaj^s the bird is only occasion-
ally seen in most parts of England — in<lividuals
apparently on migration, and probably fai- out of
their usual course. Outside the British area the
Kite breeds in most parts of Europe, resident in the
central and southern districts and migratory in the
extreme north. In Scandinavia it reaches as far
north as lat. 61°, and in Ilussia certainly nests anS
high as Archangel. It is best known in North-
west Africa as a winter visitant, but a few remain
to breed ; and it is also found in the out-
lying Atlantic islands. In North-east Africa it
appears to be absent, although it is a common
winter visitor to Palestine, where it also breeds.
122 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Its eastern limits appear to be the valley of
the Don.
This fine bird may be easily recognised even
upon the wing by its deeply forked tail. One of
the most remarkable characteristics of the Kite is
its singularly graceful and long-sustained flight.
When the bird was far more common than it is
now, the English naturalist could stand and watch
its amazing powers of wing by the hour together.
Upon one occasion only in the British Islands have
we had the good fortune to witness the once familiar
sight of a soaring Kite. We watched the bird rise
from a grove of trees and mount upwards and up-
wards in spacious circles with wings and tail out-
spread, the highest air being gained with scarcely
an apparent effort, whilst all the time the beautiful
creature was bearing away from us until we literally
lost it in the clouds. Falcons were formerly flown
at the Kite, and it was no uncommon thing for
the latter to keep the air of its pursuer until both
were lost to view. In many of its habits the Kite
closely resembles the Buzzard ; it is ordinarily a
sluggish bird, without any of the splendid dash
which characterises the movements of the Hawks
and Falcons. From this we may infer that the
food of the Kite consists principally of young and
THE KITE 125
weakly birds and small animals, insects, carrion
and offal, and occasionally fish. The mewing note
of the Kite in this country is rarely heard except
during the breeding season.
We may here state that the Kite is doubtless a
resident in our islands, such few as breed here.
Its favourite resorts for nesting purposes are
wooc's. The nest in Britain seems always to be
made in a tree, but in North Africa a ledge of rock
is often selected. A pine or fir tree is preferred.
It is placed sometimes amongst the more slender
branches at the top of the tree, but more frequently
in a crotch lower down and close to the trunk.
Externally this nest is made of sticks, often
festooned with rags, waste paper, and such-like
rubbish ; internally it is lined with moss, wool,
bones, fur, hair, rags, and even twine. The eggs
are usually three, but sometimes two or even four,
in number, pale bluish green or almost white in
ground colour, blotched, spotted, and streaked with
dark reddish brown, paler brown, and grey. The
Kite is single-brooded, and the eggs are laid in
May.
The Kite has the general colour of the upper
parts reddish brown, the feathers with paler edges ;
those on the crown and neck somewhat elongated.
124 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
greyish white streaked with brown. The under
parts are rufous brown streaked with dark brown ;
the tail reddish brown, with several dark bars.
The female is larger than the male, but Ls very
similar in colour. The length of the Kite ia about
twenty-two inches.
THE COMMON BUZZARD
{buteo vulgaris)
A BIRD whose name bears such an epithet
■^^ before it seems out of place in a volume like
the present ; but, alas ! " common " it can no longer
be called, it is only such in name, and is yearly
becoming rarer, probably becoming extinct if per-
secution be not relaxed. Formerly the Common
Buzzard was fully entitled to its name, being pretty
generally distributed throughout the British Islands.
Half a century ago this bird could not be called
rare ; five-and-twenty years ago we took a nest
ourselves in Derbyshire. The rarity of this species
now is largely due to the gamekeeper ; as one of
these worthies assured us many years ago, a
" Hawk as big as a coal-basket must do a tre-
mendous lot of harm." It has been ruthlessly shot
down accordingly, and that, too, without any
justifiable cause ; for the Buzzard is by no means
the enemy to game that sportsmen imagine, its
126 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
food consisting of many creatures eminently more
destructive. Of its harmlessness we hope to
convince the reader in our account of its general
habits. Collectors, too, are responsible to a great
extent for the Buzzard's present rarity. British-
taken eggs have long been a craze, and the high
prices which these have commanded have tempted
woodmen and keepers to seek for and rob many a
nest which might otherwise have been left alone.
If we are to retain the Common Buzzard as a
British species, this persecution must cease; and
we trust that County Councils, agriculturists, and
big landowners will in their own interests save
the bird from the extinction which threatens it.
Nowadays the Common Buzzard still breeds on
some of the Welsh cliifs and in the larger woods
of the Principality, as it also does in a few of the
wilder wooded districts of England. In Scotland
we are glad to say it has not been so sorely
persecuted, and still breeds in many secluded
spots ; whilst in Ireland, although far less common
than it used to be, it is known to nest here and
there in localities which are best kept secret. The
range of the Common Buzzard outside the British
Islands is a somewhat restricted one. The bird is
generally distributed over Western Europe from
THE COMMON BUZZARD 127
about lat. 60° north in Scandinavia southwards to
the Mediterranean, the valley of the Danube, the
Black Sea, and the Volga Delta. In North Africa
it is replaced by nearly allied forms, but the
typical species seems to be the one that breeds on
the Canary Islands. In the extreme north it is a
migrant, but in the southern areas it is resident.
The Common Buzzard is a resident in the British
Islands — that is to say, the indigenous individuals.
In its habits it is somewhat sluggish, wanting the
nimble movements and the impetuous dash that
characterise the Falcons and the Hawks. Its flight
is usually slow and laboured, the wings beaten
deliberately; but on occasion the bird displays
some exceptionally fine aerial movements, as, for
instance, when it ascends in a spiral manner to a
vast height, usually in the breeding season, and
above the woods that contain its nest. It hunts
for food in a very patient manner, often sitting on
a fence or bare limb of a tree waiting: for some
small animal to appear, which it drops down upon
and secures. Its food consists very largely of
field mice (a nest visited by Seebohm contained no
less than eleven field mice), frogs, small snakes,
and rarely birds. Indeed, this Buzzard is of as
much service to the agriculturist as the Owl, and
128 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
should be protected and encouraged accordingly,
Seebohm describes the note of this bird as a
melancholy pe-e-i-o-oo. In our islands the breeding
season of the Common Buzzard is in April and
May. Its British breeding haunts are not only in
large woods, but on maritime cliffs, and as it re-
turns to a locality year by year to rear its young,
it may not improbably pair for life. The nest is
either made in a tree or on a ledge of some cliff;
when in the latter situation, frequently made
amongst ivy or under the shelter of a bush. It is
large, flat, and made externally of sticks, lined
with finer twigs, a scrap or two of wool, and
quantities of green leaves — the latter apparently
being renewed from time to time. The eggs are
from two to four in number, usually three, and
vary from white or pale buff to pale bluish green
in ground colour, blotched, splashed, and spotted
with reddish brown, paler brown, and grey. The
female performs most of the duties of incubation,
and when flushed from her charge sometimes
circles round the spot uttering a monotonous note.
This species is single-brooded.
The Common Buzzard is a species that presents
considerable variation in the colour of its plumage,
and a description of these would take up far more
THE COMMON BUZZARD 129
space than can be allotted. Speaking generally,
the bird has the general colour of the upper parts
brown, the scapulars and wing coverts with paler
margins ; the head and nape are more or less
streaked with white. The under parts are whitish,
shading into brown on the breast, flanks, and
thighs ; the primary quills are brown, with darker
bars ; the secondaries are paler ; and the inner webs
of all are white for two-thirds of their length. The
tail is brown, crossed with about a dozen bars of
darker brown. The female closely resembles the
male in colour ; and the young are said always to
be paler than adults. The length of this Buzzard
is about twenty-two inches.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE
{a QUI LA CHRYS^TUS)
TT is certainly matter for surprise that a bird
as big as the Golden Eagle has managed to
retain its place in our avifauna, and we must
attribute the circumstance to the inaccessible
character of those remote haunts it now affects.
Little more than two hundred years ago the
Golden Eagle bred in Derbyshire and Wales.
Willughby says that this bird in his day bred on
the cliffs of Snowdon, and he actually describes an
ejv'm in Derbyshire in 1668. Wallis, a century
later, publishes the information that it bred on the
Cheviots ; whilst Jardine, in 1838, is able to give the
cliffs of Westmorland and Cumberland as recently
its breeding-place. Probably the bird formerly
bred in many parts of England and Wales ; but
persecution has done its work, and we shall never
see the Golden Eagle an inhabitant of the Lowland
shires again. In the Lowlands of Scotland the
PLATE VIJ.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE
THE GOLDEN EAGLE 131
bird still lingered as a breeding species to some-
where about the year 1855 ; now the Highlands
are its only resort. In Ireland the bird has sadly
decreased in numbers, and its principal breeding-
places are, according to Mr. R. J. Ussher, a few
places in Mayo, Donegal, Galway, and Kerry.
Returning to Scotland, the Golden Eagle breeds
here and there in the Hebrides and the Western
and Northern Highlands. It is most satisfactory
to know that this splendid bird maintains its
ground, and that in some districts it is actually
increasing, thanks to the protection which has
been given it by certain landowners, to whom all
naturalists must feel more than grateful. Collectors,
especially oologists, are responsible for the exter-
mination of a good many Golden Eagles ; and when
we hear of the tempting prices which are offered
to shepherds and others, the only wonder is that
the bird exists at all ! We are convinced that
saner opinions are spreading, and we have every
confidence that the bird for the present at all
events is safe. Let the splendid bird be guarded
as national property, for its presence in the
Highlands is an ornament that cannot be spared.
Beyond British limits the range of the Golden
Eagle is a wide one, exceeded by few other species.
132 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
It is generally distributed throughout Europe,
Asia, North Africa, and North America. We find
it dispersed in Europe from Lapland to Spain, and
across Asia to Kamtschatka and Japan, southwards
to the Himalayas ; whilst in the New World it is
found from the Arctic regions to the States, although
absent from Greenland.
The Golden Eagle is a sedentary species in the
British Islands, although one that wanders about
a good deal during the non-breeding season. Its
favourite haunts are mountains and glens and the
secluded fastnesses of deer forests. It may be
frequently met with in marine districts as well as
inland ones. The most striking feature in this
bird is its magnificent motions in the air. Its
flight, so powerful and so long-sustained, ever calls
forth our warmest admiration ; and to watch the
big broad- winged bird soaring in majestic curves
high up in the blue sky is a sight that impresses
itself on the memory for ever. Time after time in
the Highlands has it been our good fortune thus
to watch the Golden Eagle on the wing, sailing and
soaring among the mountain tops, and occasionally
swooping earthwards with erected wings in all the
majesty of freedom. Except in the air, this Eagle
is a somewhat sluggish bird, fond of sitting motion-
THE GOLDEN EAGLE 133
less on the rocks, basking in the sun and digesting
its food. The Eagle, we think wrongfully, is accused
of playing sad havoc amongst game ; but its favourite
food, as was long ago remarked by the observant
Charles St. John, and as we have repeatedly
ascertained, is the mountain hare, and failing this,
on carrion, especially on dead sheep, which are
common enough on the vast farms. Its love of
carrion often leads it into traps, and brings death
by poison ; weakly lambs and deer calves, together
with wounded or diseased Grouse and other birds,
are also eaten. The Eagle pounces on these creatures
unawares, or even drives them over cliffs — never
flies at and strikes them with the dash and daring
so characteristic of the true Falcons. In fact, as
we wrote long ago, after a careful study of the
habits of the Golden Eagle, the bird is more like a
Vulture than a Hawk, and we were going to say
almost as harmless. The usual note of this Eagle
is a yelping or barking cry.
The Golden Eagle is a very early breeder, and
probably pairs for life, seeing that the same eyrie
will be occupied or used in turn year after year.
A site for this is usually selected on some noble
crag or precipitous cliff, generally in a cleft or
where the rocks overhang. Trees nowadays seem
134 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
to be deserted, possibly because they offer a smaller
amount of security. Occasionally a sea clift' is
selected ; and we have a vivid remembrance of an
eyrie in such a situation on the west coast of Skye,
more especially because through a rotten rope we
nearly lost our life in an attempt to reach it. The
nest of the Golden Eagle is a massive, well-made
structure — a pile of sticks and branches and pieces
of turf, lined with dry grass, moss, and tufts of green
plants, generally Luzula sylvatica. The two or
rarely three eggs are dirty white or very jDale blue
in ground colour, blotched and spotted with reddish
brown and lavender grey. Usually in each clutch
one egg is much more richly marked than the
other. In the last two eggs of the Golden Eagle
which we blew from Scotland this was very
noticeable, one of them being almost spotless.
Both parents assist in incubating them. This
Eagle sits very lightly, flying away from the nest
at once, and never, so far as our experience goes,
showing any inclination to attack a human intruder.
The eggs are often laid long before the snow is off"
the mountains, in March or early in April — a
circumstance which is fortunate, for the " collector "
is seldom so far afield as the Highlands until a
more genial season.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE 135
The Golden Eagle cannot readily be confused
with any other British bird except the White-
tailed Eagle, whilst from this species it is readily
distinguished by its feathered tarsi. The general
colour of the plumage is dark brown, often with
a purplish sheen, except the nape, which is pale
brown, and the tail, which exhibits grey mottling.
The female resembles the male in colour. Young
birds are specially characterised by having the
basal half of the tail white ; and the feathers of
the body, especially on the lower parts, have white
bases. The total length of an adult Golden Eagle
is about thirty-four inches.
THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE
(hali.^etus albicilla)
TTTE are glad to say that this magnificent species
' ' still retains a place in the British avifauna,
and, although recently threatened with complete
extermination, has slightly increased in numbers of
late years, thanks to the efforts which on more
than one estate have been made to protect it.
The White-tailed Eagle was formerly much more
widely dispersed over Britain than is now the case ;
still, we trust that for years yet to come it may
remain an ornament to some of the wildest and
most romantic scenery our isles can boast. We
have ample evidence to show that within the past
hundred years this Eagle actually bred on the
Isle of Man, and in the English Lake District so
recently as 1835 ! Among other English stations
that once could boast the eyrie of this Eagle may
be mentioned Lundy Island, the Isle of Wight, and
possibly Cornwall. In the Lowlands of Scotland
136
THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE 137
it was once even more plentiful than in England,
extermination progressing northwards, and natur-
ally becoming slower in wild and remote areas far
from the haunts of men. Eyries were situated on
Ailsa Craig, the Bass Rock, and in Galloway and
Dumfriesshire. In Ireland this bird was formerly
widely dispersed, but trap, gun, and poison (to say
nothing of the rascally collector) have done their
work only too welL and its numbers have been
greatly reduced. Scattered eyries exist at the
present time in some of the wilder western districts.
In Scotland the chief stronghold of the White-
tailed Eagle is amongst the Hebrides — in Skye
particularly, also in Eigg, Scalpa, North Uist,
Benbecula, the Shiant Islands, Rum, and Canna.
Formerly the bird bred on St. Kilda ; but the
natives of those lonely isles will not tolerate such
a formidable-looking species, and it is ruthlessly
destroyed. Farther north it breeds on the Orkneys
and Shetlands, but we very much doubt if a single
eyrie is now inhabited anywhere on the mainland
of Scotland. As this Eagle is a resident in the
British Islands, the individuals of the species now
dwelling in them are all that we are ever likely to
receive, and it behoves us to see that the remnant
of the indigenous stock is strictly preserved. This
138 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Eagle is comparatively harmless, there is no excuse
for its slaughter, and we hope that the senseless
practice of laying poisoned meat, so commonly
indulged in by shepherds to this bird's detriment,
may soon be made an illegal one. There are at
present enough Eagles left to restock many a now-
deserted district ; and although we can never hope
to see the big bird in any southern haunt again,
we may do our best to protect it where preserva-
tion is possible. The White-tailed Eagle has a very
wide range beyond our limits, being found from
Greenland to Kamtschatka. It breeds in many
parts of Northern and Central Europe, from
Scandinavia to the valley of the Danube and
Turkey ; whilst in winter it visits North Africa,
from the Canaries to Egypt, in which latter
country it is said also to breed. Its winter
quarters in Asia include India, China, and Japan.
In our islands now the favourite haunts of the
White-tailed Eagle are maritime ones, but in other
countries the bird appears to have as much
preference for inland localities. No other scenery
in Britain excels in grandeur that of this Eagle's
haunt — the wild mountainous islands of the north,
with their secluded lochs and long ranges of sea-
waslied crags, their bare hills and stream-pierced
THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE 139
dales and glens, all offering that solitude and
freedom from molestation in which the bird
delights. There is a considerable amount of
similarity between the habits of this and the
preceding species. Both birds are sluggish, heavy,
and we might almost say ungainly upon the ground,
but in the air they become majestic. The flight of
the White-tailed Eagle is marked by the same
characteristics as that of its ally — the same high
soaring in immense circles, the same gliding
motions relieved by occasional flaps of the mighty
pinions, the same descents from the clouds on
uplifted wings. It is a solitary species, save in
the breeding season, and wanders far and wide
over large stretches of country in its quest for
food. This consists largely of carrion and diseased
and weakly animals and birds, such as lambs, hares,
Ducks, Ptarmigan, and sea-fowl. The bird also
feeds on fish, which it either catches for itself or
finds dead and stranded along the shore. Its note
is a yelping or barking cry.
The White-tailed Eagle breeds equally as early as
the Golden Eagle, and its eggs are laid in March or
early in April. So far as our islands are concerned,
this species appears now always to select a maritime
cliff for nesting purposes, and some of these that
I40 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
we have had the pleasure of visiting are magniticent
to a degree. So far as our experience goes, the
bird always selects a site for its eyrie which
commands a wide range of country. Some of these
nests are built in rocks absolutely inaccessible to
man ; others in situations which can be reached by
even a moderate climber. The nest is a huge mass
of sticks, often the accumulation of years, generally
lined with dry grass, bunches of wool, and leaves
of some green plant. Some nests are much more
elaborate than others, the site influencing this to a
great extent. We have seen nests which occupied
an entire crevice in the cliffs, the hollow being
filled up in the same way that a Jackdaw will do ;
whilst others on the flat ledges were composed of
not more than a quarter of the material. In some
countries, we might say, the nest is made in a tree
or even on the ground. The two eggs are white,
and generally without markings. Incubation is
performed by both sexes, and but one brood is
reared in the year. An inexperienced person
might think that to approach the nest of such a
big bird would be a somewhat risky undertaking ;
but the sitting Eagle flies away almost as soon as
it is disturbed, and appears to show no further
interest in the unwelcome visit. A Ring Ouzel is
THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE 141
immeasurably more plucky and pugnacious at its
threatened nest. The impression that Eagles are
fierce and courageous is a widely prevailing one,
yet a very erroneous one ; and in this respect
they more closely resemble the Vultures than the
Falcons and Hawks. We should also state that
this Eagle most probably pairs for life.
The general colour of the upper parts of the
White-tailed Eagle is brown, paler on the head and
nape, which in very old birds are almost white ;
the quills are nearly black ; the under parts are
very dark brown ; the tail is pure white. The
female resembles the male in colour, but is slightly
larger and darker. The young bird is much
darker than the adult, and the plumage is more
mottled ; the tail is dark brown. The total length
of the male of this Eagle is about twenty-nine
inches, the female four or five inches more.
THE HONEY BUZZARD
{PERNIS AP IVOR us)
rpHE reason why we have not included the Honey
Buzzard in our account of extinct species is
because we believe that the bird still breeds within
our area. We fear, however, that there is little
hope for saving the bird from extinction. Its fate
rests solely on the protection of the one or two
pairs that still visit us in spring ; when these are
gone, the Honey Buzzard will become as extinct
in England as the Crane and the Spoonbill, and
with as little chance of its being restored. Of all
our indigenous birds of prey, the Honey Buzzard
seems to have suffered the most from the various
exterminating forces which have been operating
during the past century or so. There can be
doubt that this bird formerly bred in many parts
of the British Islands. Willughby tells us that in
his day it was by no means uncommon. The last
stronghold of the Honey Buzzard appears to be the
THE HONEY BUZZARD 143
New Forest, and here still, we believe, a few pairs
linger, in spite of the heavy price that has been set
upon their heads by " collectors." The poor bird is
one of the most harmless of our native species, and
its good offices in destroying wasps should claim
for it immunity from persecution, to say nothing of
its beauty and the charm it lends to woodland
scenery. We can attribute the extermination
of the Honey Buzzard to nothing but the
persecution of ignorant gamekeepers and the
stupid craze for British - taken eggs and skins.
Of all our threatened species none stand in
greater need of protection, and whatever steps
may be taken to save it must be prompt and
effective.
Beyond the British Islands the Honey Buzzard
is somewhat sparingly and locally distributed as a
breeding species over the greater part of Europe,
from the Arctic Circle southwards to the Pyrenees
and Bulgaria. Eastwards its breeding range
extends from Asia Minor and Turkestan, across
Southern Siberia and North China to Japan. It
passes the Mediterranean countries on migration
only, and its winter home includes the African
portion of the intertropical realm, and possibly
India and Siam.
144 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The Honey Buzzard passes into Europe, often in
large flocks, about the middle of April, the migration
lasting for about a month, and returns south during
September and October. The British individuals
arrive in our area early in May. Its habits are
somewhat similar to those of the Kite and the
Common Buzzard. It is a somewhat sluggish bird,
spending much of its time upon the ground, where
it is said to run with remarkable speed and grace.
When in the air, however, it often indulges in those
soaring flights and sailing motions so characteristic
of the raptores. Its note is a Buzzard-like cry, an
oft-repeated querulous sound, seldom heard, how-
ever, except in the breeding season. The food of
this species largely consists of wasp grubs, to
obtain which it will dig into the ground with
great perseverance, apparently utterly oblivious
of the angry insects. Grasshoppers, frogs,
lizards, mice, worms, and small birds are also
eaten.
The breeding season of this bird begins early in
June. Like the Kestrel, it does not make a nest
for itself, but selects the deserted home of a Crow,
a Magpie, a Kite, or a Common Buzzard, in which
to lay its eggs ; but before doing so it appears to re-
line the structure with a quantity of green leaves,
THE HONEY BUZZARD 145
or twigs with the leaves upon them. This lining
seems to be renewed from time to time as incuba-
tion proceeds. The eggs are usually two in number,
but three and even four have been recorded. They
are very beautiful objects, almost round, cream or
pale red in ground colour, blotched and spotted
with rich brown, often so thickly as to hide all
trace of the paler ground. But one brood is reared
in the season, and both parents assist in the task
of incubation.
We are not aware that the Honey Buzzard is
at all gregarious during the breeding season,
although the bird migrates towards its nesting-
grounds in flocks, and returns in the same way
— a habit indulged in by several other raptorial
species.
The Honey Buzzard may be readily distinguished
by its densely feathered lores and its finely
reticulated tarsi. The adult male has the head
ash grey, the remainder of the upper parts brown ;
the under parts are nearly uniform white, with a
few brownish bars on the chest and flanks; the
tail is pale brown, crossed with three nearly black
bars. A melanistic form of this bird is known
with the under parts dark brown. The female
resembles the male in colour, but wants the grey
146 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
head. Young birds have pale margins to the
feathers of the upper parts, and the under parts are
streaked instead of barred with brown. The total
length of the Honey Buzzard is about twenty-four
inches.
X
THE MARSH HARRIER
{circus ^ruginosus)
TTERE again we have the sad record of a
species, once fairly dispersed over the
British Islands, now confined to one or two
localities, where it manages to elude that sense-
less persecution which seems likely to reduce it
to extinction. We fear there can be little doubt
that the Marsh Harrier breeds but in one English
county at the present time, and not at all in Scot-
land. In Ireland the bird is very probably more
abundant than it is in England, the country being
less populated and far more suited to its require-
ments. We have evidence to show that this
Harrier formerly bred in Devonshire, in Somerset,
Dorset, Shropshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire,
possibly also throughout the marshy wastes of
East Anglia. Whether this species ever bred in
Scotland seems by no means clear. The only
place in which the Marsh Harrier is now known
148 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
with certainty to breed is in the Norfolk Broads.
In Ireland, Mr. Ussher informs us that it still
breeds sparingly in Queen's County and Galway,
and " probably " in King's County and Westmeath.
There can be little doubt that the drainage and
enclosure of marshy lands and fens has had a
great deal to do with the extermination of this
Harrier in England ; as poison and gamekeepers
are chief!}'' responsible for its present rarity in
Ireland. If the bird's haunts are destroyed, the
birds perforce must go too ; and possibly the
day is not far distant when the Irish bogs will
be the sole retreat of the Marsh Harrier in Britain.
There, however, some means should be taken to
ensure the bird greater security than it now
enjoys.
Outside our area the Marsh Harrier has a very
wide distribution, reaching across Europe and
Asia to Japan. It is not an Arctic bird, breeding
in the south of Sweden only, but it is pretty
generally distributed over Temperate and Southern
Europe, as well as throughout the Mediterranean
countries of North Africa (in winter reaching to
the Equator). It is a summer migrant in the
northern areas, but a resident in warmer and
more southern localities. Eastwards we trace
THE MARSH HARRIER 149
it from Asia Minor across Turkestan and Siberia
to North China and the Japanese Islands in
summer, and in winter southwards to India and
South China. The presence of an allied form in
Asia renders the definition of its limits in this
direction extremely difficult.
The Marsh Harrier well deserves its name. It
is a dweller in the wilderness of swamps, fens,
wet moors, and marshy lands, and the inundated
banks of slow-running rivers and weed-choked
meres. In common with its congeners, it possesses
the habit of beating to and fro in slow and some-
what laboured flight over these swampy wastes
in quest of food, seldom pursuing its quarry like
a Hawk, but dropping down upon it unawares.
It is fond also of sitting on walls, big stones, or
even trees, whence it frequently sallies to capture
prey. It spends a great part of its time in the
air, possessing enduring wing-power, which, how-
ever, is rarely exerted beyond a slow and measured
flapping, the bird all the time intent on scan-
ning every inch of the ground below. We have
watched it thus for a long time passing up and
down over a comparatively small extent of marsh
in eager quest. Its habit of attending sportsmen
and carrying off" dead or wounded birds under the
ISO LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
very noses of the dogs has often been remarked.
The food of this Harrier is largely composed of
small mammals (such as mice, moles, young rabbits),
frogs, and small or weakly birds. It is also a
great robber of eggs and nestlings, most adept
at finding nests and spoiling them of their con-
tents. It is said also to eat fish. The note of
the female of this Harrier is described by
Naumann as a clear pitz and 2:)eep; that of the
male as koi or kai. The Marsh Harriers that
breed in England and Ireland are probably
residents.
The Marsh Harrier, for a raptorial bird, is a
somewhat late breeder, its eggs not being laid
before May in this country, but in more southern
haunts in March. The bird is far too rare in the
British Islands to breed gregariously ; but in
Spain, where it is very abundant, Irby records
as many as twenty nests within three hundred
yards of each other. Montagu states that he has
found the nest of this Harrier in a tree, but the
usual place is upon the ground amongst the reeds
or even in shallow water ; and it is said a deserted
nest of a Coot or Moorhen is sometimes utilised.
Seebohm records a large nest absolutely floating
amongst the reeds in water several feet in depth.
THE MARSH HARRIER 151
As is usual with birds nesting in such aquatic
situations, the structure is added to from time to
time, not only to increase its bulk and stability,
but to replace material that may be washed away.
The nest of this Harrier is a bulky one, made of
reeds, sticks, and twigs, and lined with dead grass
and other aquatic vegetation. The eggs are from
three to six in number, and pale bluish green,
almost white in colour, occasionally marked with
rusty brown. Incubation appears to be performed
by the female, and but one brood is reared in the
season.
The adult male Marsh Harrier has the head and
nape creamy white, streaked with dark brown ;
the remainder of the upper parts is reddish brown,
with paler margins to the feathers ; the primaries
are black, the secondaries and tail ash grey ; the
under parts are chestnut brown. The female,
although a trifle larger, closely resembles the male
in colour. Young birds are uniform dark brown,
spotted with paler brown, except the crown and
throat, which are pale buff. The length of this
Harrier is about twenty-two inches.
MONTAGU'S HARRIER
{circus cineraceus)
A LTHOUGH Montagu can scarcely be credited
-^■*- with the honour of discovering the Harrier
which now bears his name, for the bird was
unquestionably known to and described by
Linnaeus, there can be no doubt that he was the
first naturalist to show that the bird was a British
species, and to clear up much confusion which
then existed concerning another Harrier also breed-
ing within our area. The evidence concerning the
past distribution of Montagu's Harrier in the
British Islands seems to show that the bird was
never more than a fairly common summer visitor
to the southern and eastern counties of England,
and a rarer one to Wales, and as far north as the
Solway district, in the south of Scotland. A
hundred years ago this species was very much
more common than it is now, although comparat-
ively recent instances of its breeding are known
MONTAGU'S HARRIER
'33
in Devonshire, Somerset, Dorset, and Hants. Its
principal haunts at the present day appear to be
the heaths of Norfolk. Possibly the bringing of
common land into cultivation may have had some
influence in reducing the numbers of this Harrier ;
but there can be no doubt that the persecution of
gamekeepers has had infinitely more. If we are
to retain this elegant and pretty bird in our fauna,
measures will have speedily to be taken, for all
the available evidence at the present day goes to
show that this Harrier is upon the very verge of
extinction. The old stock of birds that has been
in the habit of migrating to Britain to breed is
just upon exhausted, and if the few remaining
pairs are not shown some consideration, the species
must cease to exist as a British one. This Harrier
never seems to have been a regular inhabitant of
Ireland, and only one or two odd birds have been
obtained there.
Outside the British Islands Montagu's Harrier
is generally distributed as a breeding species over
Continental Europe, south of the Baltic and the
Gulf of Finland. Eastwards we trace it as a
breeding species into Turkestan and Southern
Siberia at least as far as the valley of the Yenisei.
The winter range of this species not only includes
154 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
various parts of South Europe, but Africa (where a
few are said also to breed in the extreme north)
south to the intertropical reahn, and in Asia, India,
Ceylon, and Burma.
Montagu's Harrier is often seen in large flocks
on migration ; and wherever the bird has not been
persecuted, more or less social tendencies are
shown throughout the year. These birds pass into
Europe from the south very early in spring, the
individuals breeding in the British area reaching
us in April. The return journey takes place in
September and October. The favourite haunts of
this Harrier are extensive heaths and commons,
grain lands, and marshes. Its habits are very
similar to those of the preceding species. The
bird has the same eSiSy, graceful flight, the same
peculiarity of systematically hunting the ground
by passing to and fro and dropping down upon its
prey. At times it will glide for a long distance
with outspread motionless wings, or hover for a
few moments in a fluttering manner like the better-
known Kestrel. This bird appears to spend a
good deal of its time upon the ground. Like
its congeners, it is a persevering searcher after the
nests of other birds, and robs them of their eggs
and young, or even pounces down upon the sitting
MONTAGU'S HARRIER 155
birds. Its other food includes mice, moles, frogs,
grasshoppers, locusts, snakes, and lizards — a bill of
fare that bears eloquent testimony to the bird's
usefulness to man. The breeding season of Mon-
tagu's Harrier is in May. The nest is invariably
made upon the ground, and as certain localities
are used annually the probability is the birds pair
for life. A bare spot amongst the heath or furze
is usually selected, and here a slight nest of straws
or dry grass surrounded with a few twigs is
formed, the whole usually being arranged in some
slight hollow. The eggs vary from four to six,
and are pale bluish white, occasionally with a few
rusty brown markings. These eggs are apparently
laid at intervals of a few days, but the bird begins
to sit as soon as the first is laid. Incubation seems
to be performed by the female alone. Saunders
relates that a female flushed from her nest in the
Isle of Wight flew away in ever widening circles,
and returned in a similar circuitous manner, until
close to her home she dropped upon it with closed
wings. During the breeding season this Harrier
may often be seen playing and toying with its
mate high in air.
The adult male Montagu's Harrier has the
general colour of the plumage grey, with black
156 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
primaries and a black bar across the secondaries ;
the outer tail feathers are marked with reddish
brown and white bars. The under parts below the
breast are white, streaked with reddish brown.
The female is nearly uniform brown on the upper
parts, streaked with rufous on the head and neck ;
the wings and tail are brown, some of the quills
in the former and all the latter barred with
darker brown ; the under parts are white streaked
with rufous. The young somewhat closely re-
semble the female, but the upper plumage shows
more buff margination, and the under surface is
buff streaked with reddish brown. The total
length of this Harrier is about eighteen or nineteen
inches. Montagu's Harrier may be distinguished in
any plumage by the absence of a notch in the outer
web of the fifth primary.
THE HEN HARRIER
{circus CYANEUS)
rpHE trivial name of this Harrier is a significant
testimony to its former abundance in the
British Islands. Even at the present time we
should class it as the most common of the three
British species, notwithstanding a long course of
persecution, and very probably because its haunts
are inaccessible to the multitude. At one time
very widely dispersed, it now seems to be confined
to the wild moorland districts from Cornwall and
Devonshire through Wales to the Lake District,
and thence northwards to the Highlands, the
Western Isles, the Orkneys, and the Shetlauds.
There is evidence to show that the Hen Harrier was
formerly a dweller in the fens of East Anglia, but
has now become extinct there, as it also has in
many moorland districts of the west and north.
In Ireland it is still found as a breeding species,
though in sadly reduced numbers ; and, notwith-
158 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
standing the suitability of the country for this
species, it is said by Mr. Ussher only to nest, and
that sparingly, in Kerry and Galway, possibly in
Antrim, Queen's County, Waterford, and Tipperary.
Drainage and enclosure of waste lands has probably
contributed to the decrease of the Hen Harrier in
lowland and cultivated areas, but its disappearance
cannot be attributed to such a cause in the moor-
land and mountain haunts it was known to frequent.
Here, as indeed elsewhere, it has been ruthlessly
shot down and trapped by gamekeepers and land-
owners. It is more than probable that the Hen
Harrier will soon be banished entirely to the
mountainous moors.
The extra British breeding range of the Hen
Harrier extends across Europe and Asia to the
north island of Japan, from about the limits of
forest growth in the north down to Spain, Central
France, the Alps, Carpathians, Turkey, South
Russia, Palestine, and Southern Turkestan in the
south. Its winter range includes the basin of the
Mediterranean, Northern India, Mongolia, China,
and Southern Japan.
There can be little doubt that the Hen Harrier
in its prosperous days was principally a summer
visitor to the British Islands, although a few birds
THE HEN HARRIER 159
appear to remain over the winter in some districts.
From France northwards on the Continent the bird
is a regular migrant, moving to its breeding-grounds
in March or April, and returning in September,
October, and November. Its favourite haunts
in Britain are wild moors and heaths and the
rough scrub-covered sides of mountains. During
migration it is to some extent gregarious, but at
other times appears to live solitary or in scattered
pairs. Its habits very closely resemble those of the
preceding species. It shows the same peculiarity
of flying slowly up and down its haunts, at no great
height, searching the ground below for the objects
on which it subsists. It is also very regular in its
movements, searching particular places about the
same hour each day, and passing over the country
by certain routes. It is a great robber of nests,
especially those of the smaller birds, feeding upon
the eggs and nestlings, and even the parents, when
able to drop down upon them unawares. Unlike
the other species, it is said often to chase its quarry
on the wing. Its other food consists of small
mammals, such as mice and moles, of frogs and
lizards, grasshoppers, locusts, and other insects,
whilst its partiality for chickens has long brought
it into ill-repute with the poultry-keeper. The
i6o LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
nest of the Hen Harrier is always made upon the
ground, often amongst long heather or gorse, less
frequently on barer ground. A nest of this Harrier
we examined in Skye was made in an almost im-
penetrable heather thicket; and we were assured
by gamekeepers in the island that sheep broke
many eggs of this bird in wandering over the hills.
The nest is usually a mere hollow scantily lined
with dry grass and surrounded with a few twigs.
Sometimes the nest is much larger, a foot or more
in height, yet made of similar material. The eggs
are from four to six in number, bluish white, rarely
marked with a few rusty spots. The Hen Harrier
is a very conspicuous bird on the mountain moors,
looking like a Gull in the distance, and its slow,
measured flight increases the similarity. But one
breed is reared in the season, and the eggs are
incubated by the female. The note of this species
has been described as an oft-repeated ker.
The adult male Hen Harrier has the general
colour of the upper parts and the breast a clear
slate grey ; the rump and the under parts below the
breast are white ; the quills are black, but the tail
is grey, like the upper plumage generall3^ The
female has the general colour of the plumage
brown, palest on the under parts, which are streaked
THE HEN HARRIER i6i
with reddish brown ; the upper tail coverts are
white as in the male, but marked indistinctly with
brown ; the tail is dark brown, barred with huffish
brown, and tipped with pale buff. The young some-
what closely resemble the female in colour. The
total length of this Harrier is about nineteen or
twenty inches, females being a trifle larger than
males.
II
THE DOTTEREL
{e UDR 0^ II A S MORI NELL US )
TTTHETHER the Dotterel ever bred on any
' ^ of the hills in the south of England does
not appear to be certainly known ; but there is
abundant evidence to show that in former times
the bird occurred in some abundance during the
season of its migrations on the hills and downs
bordering the English Channel and elsewhere
farther inland. Possibly some of these remained
to breed. Nowadays the Dotterel is not only rare
on passage, but has been well-nigh if not com-
pletely exterminated in many of its British nesting-
places. In this case we cannot exactly lay the
blame of extermination to the collector ; although
we have reason for stating that its eggs are sought
eagerly by oologists and dealers, especially now
the bird has become " rare " and British-taken eggs
are at a premium. The Dotterel is now so rare
because it has been slaughtered so wantonly, not
' 162
THE DOTTEREL 163
only for its flesh, which is or was considered a
great delicacy, but for the sake of its feathers,
which are used in the makino- of artificial flies
for fishermen. As the bird was extremely fat,
especially in spring, it was caught before it had
time to breed, and hence its numbers gradually
diminished. The bird still breeds, we believe, on
the hills in the Lake District as well as on the
Cheviots, but in numbers that are decreasing.
Farther north, we are glad to say, it breeds in
greater numbers on the hills of Dumfriesshire, on
the Grampians in North Perthshire, and on the
borders of Inverness-shire, and in Ross and Banif-
shire. It has been found nesting in the Orkneys,
but appears only to pass the Shetlands on migration.
Elsewhere in our islands the Dotterel can only be
regarded as a casual visitor or a passing migrant.
If the Wild Birds Protection Acts were better
enforced, there can be little doubt that the Dotterel
would increase in numbers in Britain ; but other-
wise the species is bound to decrease and possibly
become extinct. Beyond our limits the Dotterel
has a wide range, breeding on the tundras above
the limits of forest growth across Europe and
Asia, and at high elevations on the Alps. In
winter it is found in the basin of the Mediterranean,
i64 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
— but sparingly on the European side, — and is an
occasional visitor to the Canaries.
The Dotterel is a late migrant, not reaching its
British haunts before the end of April or early in
May, whilst the return passage extends normally
over September and October. This species is not
a dweller on the coasts, but loves the inland
pastures, sheep walks, and bare mountain slopes.
It is certainly a social bird, not only on migration
but at its breeding haunts, and becomes even more
so after the young are reared. All observers agree
as to its exceptional tameness, this trustfulness
having gained for it the name of " foolish " Dotterel.
Its flight is rapid and powerful ; but the bird spends
most of its time upon the ground, running about in
quest of food. This consists of insects, worms,
grubs, snails, and the buds and shoots of plants.
Its call-note is a plaintive dilt variously modulated,
and in the pairing season is prolonged into a kind
of trill. In the British Islands the eggs of the
Dotterel are laid towards the end of May or early
in June. The nest is a mere hollow in the moss
or grass on the uplands. The eggs are three in
number, varying from yellowish olive to pale buff,
richly blotched and spotted with dark brown,
paler brown, and grey. The male — in this species
THE DOTTEREL 165
as in the Red-necked Phalarope — is not so line or
showily dressed a bird as the female, and con-
sequently the greater part of the duties of
incubation and tending the brood devolve upon
him. But one brood is reared in the year. At the
nest the old birds frequently try by cunning
artifices to lui-e an intruder away.
The adult female Dotterel in breeding plumage
has the general colour of the upper parts greyish
brown, becoming brownish black on the crown ;
the shaft of the first primary is white ; the wing
coverts and innermost secondaries and scapulars
are margined with chestnut ; the outer tail feathers
have broad white tips. From the base of the bill
extending backwards round the crown is a white
stripe ; the chin and throat are white ; the breast
is greyish brown ; across the chest is a white band
margined with black ; the remainder of the under
parts are chestnut, shading into nearly black on the
belly, and bufiish white on the thighs, vent, and
under tail coverts. The male is smaller and less
brilliant than the female. The young bird has the
crown dark brown with pale margins, the breast
mottled with greyish brown, the white gorget
only faintly indicated, and the rest of the under
parts white. The total length of the female
i66 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
Dotterel is about nine inches. It should be stated
that there is some difference of opinion respect-
ing the colour and size of the sexes in this
species. The matter seems to require further
investigation.
THE KENTISH SAND PLOVER
{mgialophilus cantianus)
rriHIS pretty species appears to have been at
all times an excessively local one. It must
always have an exceptional interest for British
naturalists, inasmuch as it was first made known
to science from examples obtained on the south
coast of England little more than a hundred
years ago. To Mr. Boys of Sandwich belongs the
credit of its discovery. This gentleman sent an
example to Latham, which was figured by Lewin
in his work on British Birds published in 1800;
whilst a year later Latham himself described it
in the Supplement to his celebrated Index Orni-
thologicus, having received two more examples
from Mr. Boys in 1791. Although this Plover has
been obtained accidentally in other parts of the
British area, its normal distribution is confined to
the shingly beaches of Kent and Sussex. There is
no evidence of its breeding on any other part of
167
i68 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
our coast-line, although the bird is fairly common
in the Channel Islands. The present rarity of the
Kentish Plover is entirely due to the greed of
collectors, and it seems to us a monstrous thing
that such is the case. If some means are not
quickly devised for its protection, nothing can
save the Kentish Plover from absolute extinction
in the British Islands. The bird only requires
protection during the breeding season, from April
onwards, and we would make it illegal to shoot
Kentish Plovers until the beginning of October,
instead of the first of August, by which date the
poor harassed birds would have retired south to
their winter centres. The taking of the eggs
should also be made illegal. No species more
urgently needs protection.
The Kentish Plover is a summer migrant to the
beaches of Western Europe, from France north-
wards to the south of Sweden. It is a resident on
the coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, the Azores,
Canaries, and Madeira, and along both sides of the
Mediterranean. Eastwards, we find it frequenting
the marshes on the South Russian Steppes, the
beaches of the Black, Caspian, and Aral Seas, and
those of the salt lakes in Turkestan, Dauria, and
Mongolia. The winter range includes the coasts of
THE KENTISH SAND PLOVER 169
Africa south to the intertropical realm, the Mekran
coast, the Indian Peninsula, Burma, the Malay
countries, China, and Japan. The presence of
several allied forms in Asia makes the definition of
the winter area of this species somewhat difficult.
The Kentish Plover is seldom found far from
salt water, either on the rough sand and pebble-
strewn beaches of the sea, or on similar ground
by the margins of salt lakes farther inland. This
Plover arrives on the British coasts towards the
end of April or early in May. Its favourite resorts
are sandy beaches interspersed with patches of
shingle and pebbles. Here its actions are very
similar to those of the better-known Ringed Plover.
It searches for food on the very margin of the
incoming tide, running daintily hither and thither,
or standing for a moment quite still, until the next
spent wave causes it to trip lightly out of the way.
The poor little bird is too rare in England now to
display many social tendencies during the summer,
the few scattered pairs keeping to their own
particular haunts; but in autumn parties may
sometimes be seen, broods and their parents
migrating together. The flight of this species is
very similar to that of the commoner Ringed Plover,
rapid and well-sustained, and often accompanied by
I70 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
a series of shrill, oft-repeated notes. The alarm-
note may be expressed by the syllable ptirr ; the
more usual call-note is a loud, clear whit. This
latter note, during the pairing season, is often
repeated so rapidly as to become a trill, and is
uttered as the cock bird soars and flies in circles
above his mate upon the sands below. The food of
this Plover consists of crustaceans, sand worms,
molluscs, and insects.
The Kentish Plover probably pairs for life, and
returns season after season with admirable per-
sistency to the same strip of shingle to breed.
The eggs are laid towards the end of May or early
in June. Nest there is none beyond a little hollow
in the sand or shingle, whilst sometimes the eggs
are laid on a drifted heap of dry seaweed. These
eggs are usually three, but sometimes four in
number, and are buff in ground colour, blotched,
streaked, and spotted with blackish brown and grey.
Few birds sit more alertly, and the moment danger
is detected the wily parent runs from her charge
for some distance ere rising. The young birds are
very nimble, and when alarmed hide themselves by
crouching low amongst the pebbles. Dr. Sharpe,
who has had an enviable experience of this rare
bird, thus writes respecting the young: "I have.
THE KENTISH SAND PLOVER 171
however, captured several nestlings by resting my
head on the shingle, when the little creatures
become distinctly visible against the sky-line, as
they run along with wonderful swiftness for such
tiny objects. I could never bring myself to kill
any of these fluffy little balls of down, with their
great dark eyes and abnormally long legs-; and
later in the autumn I have been rewarded by
seeing flocks of Kentish Sand Plovers feeding on
the green herbage which skirts the harbours after
the tide has receded. I once saw, from behind my
shelter of a mud-bank, more than forty of these
pretty birds feeding on the green moss near Romney
Hoy, and a more interesting sight can scarcely be
imagined." As will be seen from the foregoing
particulars, the Kentish Plover becomes gregarious
in autumn, as so many other kindred species do.
This Plover rears but one brood in the summer,
and the migration south begins in August and
continues into September.
The adult male Kentish Sand Plover has the
forehead and eyebrow white; the lores and a
broad streak behind the eye black ; another black
patch separates the white on the forehead from
the buff" of the top of the head and the nape ; the
remainder of the upper parts, including the six
172 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
central tail feathers, are greyish brown ; the quills
are dark brown, with white shafts to the primaries
and concealed white bases to the innermost ; the
innermost secondaries are also margined witli
white ; the remaining tail feathers are white. The
general colom- of the under parts is white, except a
black patch on each side of the chest. The female
resembles the male in colour, but the black on the
fore crown is wanting ; the breast patches are
brown, and the buff on the head is not so extensive
or rich in tint. In winter the buff is entirely
wanting from both sexes ; young birds resemble
adults in winter plumage, but the dark feathers
have pale margins. The total length of this Plover
is between six and seven inches. It may be dis-
tinguished at all ages not only by its white nuchal
collar, but by its interrupted pectoral band and
black legs.
THE RUFF
{machetes pugnax)
TF this curious species still manages to retain a
place as an indigenous British bird, that is all
that can be said for it. We are still loth to regard
the RufF as extinct in our islands as a breeding
species, for possibly it may yet be saved to us if
the law already in existence for its protection be
strictly enforced. The RufF was formerly a very
common summer visitor to the marshes of East
Anglia, but is only known now to resort to a few
localities in Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Professor
Newton says there is but one locality left. Mr.
Saunders states that a hen bird was shot from
the nest as recently as 1882 in the former county,
and also that a few pairs succeed in rearing
their broods in the latter county. As we have
found to be the case with several other species,
numbers of Ruffs pass our islands on migra-
tion, but even these are dwindling in amount.
174 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
These passing migrants, however, are of no
service in recruiting the indigenous stock, and as
soon as that becomes extirpated, the Ruff as a
breeding species will be lost to us for ever. Formerly
the Ruff was so plentiful in the Fens that it was
regularly snared and fattened for the table ; but
the drainage of these vast areas has robbed the
bird of its home for the most part, and senseless,
wanton persecution is doing the rest. In many
respects the Ruff is one of the most singular of
known birds, and one deserving of every effort
being made for its retention in the British avifauna.
There are many tracts of land still left suited to
the bird's requirements ; all that is necessary is
to protect it, especially during the breeding season.
Beyond our limits the Ruff is a very wide-
ranging species, being found during the breeding
season over the greater part of Europe and Asia.
In Europe it is said to breed as far north as land
extends, and as far south as the valley of the
Danube ; in Asia, up to similar limits, across the
continent to Kamtschatka, and south to the Kirghiz
Steppes, Western Dauria, and possibly the valley
of the Amoor. It is a well-known migrant in the
basins of the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, and
Aral Seas, and winters in the African portion of
THE RUFF 175
the intertropical realm, in Northern India and
Burma. Abnormal migrants of this species have
been known to wander to South America, Borneo,
Canada, and elsewhere.
The Ruff begins its migrations into Europe as
early as January, and continues them until near
the end of May. The return passage takes place
in August, September, and October; but a few
odd birds are often known to pass the winter on
the British coasts. The Ruff is gregarious, not
only on passage and in winter, but practically
throughout the breeding season. During the non-
breeding season the Ruff frequents mudflats and
salt marshes on the coast as well as inland districts,
but in summer its favourite resorts are swampy
moors and rough wet ground, clothed with a carpet
of coarse grass, hummocks of sedge, and rushes.
The flight and general actions of the Ruff are very
similar to those of wading birds in general. Its
food consists of insects and larvae, worms, snails,
small seeds, and various vegetable fragments. Its
note is described by some observers as a low whit,
by others as ka-ka-kuk.
By far the most interesting portion of the Ruff's
economy is that relating to its reproduction. The
Ruff is polygamous, and, like most birds practising
176 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
polygamy, the males are excessively pugnacious,
and fond of displaying those curious nuptial plumes
which render this species absolutely unique amongst
Aves. During the mating season the males " hill,"
as it is termed — that is, resort to certain spots to
engage in combat ; and these battles are continued
at intervals — generally in the morning — until the
females retire to incubate the eggs. The males
now take no further interest in the hens, leaving
them to bring up the brood, whilst they wander
about in flocks until the migration period arrives.
Some very interesting particulars concerning the
" hilling " of this species have been contributed to
the Ibis by Mr. A. Chapman, who found the RufF
very common in the marshes of Jutland in the
season of 1893. He writes : " It was with the
greatest interest that we watched these singular
birds, in congregations of from six or eight to
twenty or thirty, beating their flanks with their
wings, and otherwise performing the strangest
antics. Often a pair of RufFs would, with ruff and
ear-tufts erect, stand facing each other for minutes
together, their heads lowered and their bills nearly
touching each other; then one would spring into
the air and make a desperate rush at his retiring
adversary, their aptitude for running over the
THE RUFF 177
ground at a marvellous speed being most extra-
ordinary. Very frequently no Reeve was present
during these exhibitions, and the persistency with
which the birds refuse to be driven away from
their selected ' hill ' merits attention." After pair-
ing, each female appears to select some spot for
the nest away from her companions. This nest
is made upon the ground in the swamps, and is
generally placed in the centre of a tuft of sedge or
coarse grass, which eftectually conceals it. It is
little more than a hollow in which a few dead
leaves or bits of withered herbage are strewn. The
eggs are four in number, varying from greenish
grey to greyish green in ground colour, spotted
and blotched with reddish brown and greyish
brown. But one brood is reared in the year, the
eggs for which are laid in May or early June.
The plumage of the adult male Ruff varies in
colour to such an astonishing degree, that to
attempt any detailed description in the space here
available is absolutely impossible. We may, how-
ever, say that this variation is chiefly confined to
the nuptial plumes which are assumed in spring —
the ruff, the feathers on the breast and flanks,
and the ground colour of the upper parts. An
almost endless diversity or mixture of white,
178 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
chestnut, and black with blue and green metallic
reflections, is exhibited on these plumes, and it is
interesting to remark that each RufF assumes
similar colours to those displayed in previous
seasons. The wings are nearly uniform brown ; the
feathers of the lower back are brownish black, with
chestnut margins ; the under wing coverts and
axillaries are white, as are also the centre of the
belly and the under tail coverts ; the tail is brown.
The face in spring is bare of feathers, but covered
with tubercles of various tints, said to correspond
with that of the ruff or collar itself. The female
— smaller than the male — wants all this decorative
plumage, has the general colour of the upper parts
black, each feather with a greyish-white or chestnut-
buff margin ; the feathers of the breast and flanks
are brown, with pale margins ; the remainder of
the under surface is white ; the wings and tail
are similar to those of the male in colour. Young
birds resemble the female, but the buff margins
are more pronounced. Diagnostic characters of
this species are the white axillaries, and the
absence of white from the quills and central
upper tail coverts. The length of the adult male
is about twelve inches, the female two inches less.
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
{PHALAROPUS HYPERBOREUS)
TTERE again we have a most interesting and
-^-^ beautiful little species threatened with
speedy extermination within the British Islands.
Fortunately, its haunts are confined to the most
remote areas, but even there the " trading collector "
penetrates, and with results that may be readily
imagined, seeing the price that British-taken birds
and eggs command. There would be no thieves if
there were no purchasers of stolen goods, and there
would be none of these rascally speculative dealers
ready to despoil the haunts and nests of our rarest
birds, if Q,gg collectors declined to purchase speci-
mens which are literally costing the extermination
of so many interesting birds. All the mainland
haunts of the Red-necked Phalarope are now
deserted. Formerly this species bred in many a
Scottish shire, — in those of Perth, Inverness, and
Sutherland for certain, — but nowadays its last
179
i8o LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
remaining strongholds are on various islands on the
west and north of Scotland, which it seems a pity
more particularly to specialise. To watch these
tame and gentle little creatures at their breeding
stations on the wild islands of the north, is a sight
whose charm no pen can do justice to ; and it
grieves us to think that continued persecution
is rapidly bringing the day when such exquisite
pictures of bird life will fade from our Scottish
waters for ever. Even within the past ten
years the number of breeding birds has sadly
diminished, and there can be no doubt what-
ever that the indigenous stock is fast becoming
exhausted.
Beyond the limits of the British Islands the
Red-necked Phalarope has a very extensive range,
breeding throughout the Arctic and sub-Arctic
regions of both hemispheres. In America we find
it from Alaska to Greenland : in the Old World
from Iceland and the Faroes across Europe and
Asia to Kamtschatka. In Continental Europe this
Phalarope breeds as far south as the Dovrefjeid
in latitude 62°, and in Eastern Asia as low as
latitude 55° on the shores of the Okhotsk Sea. Its
winter migrations extend in the Old World down
to the basin of the Mediterranean, Persia, Northern
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE i8i
India, China, Malaysia, and Japan ; whilst in the
New World they reach Mexico and Central
America.
The Red-necked Phalarope is quite as aquatic in
its habits as a Coot, perhaps even more so, being
seldom seen on the land for long together, except
in the breeding season. It is an absurdly tame
and confiding little bird, especially at the nest, and
at all times seems more or less gregarious. This
species swims well, with a buoyancy exceeded by
no other bird. It is a pretty sight to watch its
actions when swimming across some deep, clear
pool, progressing in a more or less zigzag direction,
each stroke of its feet accompanied by a nod of its
head. It may also be seen running quickly and
gracefully about the marshy shores, wading or
swimming the intervening pools, or even tripping-
lightly over floating masses of weed. Its flight is
not only rapid but powerful ; and Seebohm re-
marked that when one was shot, its companions
came and hovered above it, and then alighted
near it, just as Terns will often do. The usual
note of this Phalarope is a shrill, clear weet. Its
food is composed chiefly of insects, but worms,
crustaceans, and other small marine creatures are
sought.
i82 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The Red-necked Phalarope reaches its breeding
haunts in Scotland towards the end of April or
early in May. Here its favourite nesting-places
are on the banks of rush-fringed pools, which stud
the moors at no great distance from the sea. As
these places are visited year by year, it seems
probable that the bird may pair for life. This
Phalarope nests in scattered colonies, and through-
out the breeding season may be seen in companies
swimming on the water or standing or running
about the marshy moors. The nest is slight, and
either made upon the ground or a short distance
above it in a tuft of coarse grass or rushes. It is
little more than a hollow somewhat neatly lined
with dry grass or scraps of sedge leaves and reed.
The four pyriform eggs range from pale olive to
buff in ground colour, blotched and spotted with
umber brown, blackish brown, pale brown, and grey.
But one brood is reared in the year, and the eggs
are chiefly incubated by the male. It may be of
interest to remark that in this, as in some other
species, the female is larger and more showily
attired than the male ; she takes the initiative in
courtship, and leaves her mate to take the greatest
share in bringing up the brood. As possibly bear-
ing on this curious fact, we may mention that
THE RED-NECKED PHALAROPE i8
Messrs. Pearson and Bidwell, during their visit to
Northern Norway, repeatedly saw one female
attended by two males, and pertinently ask whether
this species is polyandrous ? The question is
certainly worthy of further investigation.
The adult female Red-necked Phalarope in
nuptial plumage has the head, the back of the
neck, and the shoulders slate grey ; the remainder
of the upper parts of the body is grey ; the wings
are brown, the scapulars striped with chestnut, the
innermost secondaries narrowly and the greater
coverts broadly tipped with white ; the tail is also
brown, but the upper tail coverts are barred with
white. The chin and throat are white, the front
and sides of the neck chestnut, the upper breast
grey, the remainder of the under surface white,
flecked with grey on the flanks and under tail
coverts. The male in nuptial plumage is much
duller than the female, otherwise resembles her in
colour. In winter plumage the chestnut and grey
are absent from the neck, and the chestnut disappears
from the scapulars; whilst all the grey feathers of
the upper parts are margined with white ; and the
forehead and entire under parts are white. Young
birds are brown on the breast, and the feathers
on the forehead, mantle, scapulars, innermost
i84 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
secondaries, and upper tail coverts are dark brown,
with chestnut margins. The tail is also brown,
with similar edges. The total length of the
female is about eight inches, the male about an
inch less.
THE ROSEATE TERN
{sterna DOUG ALU)
rPHE Roseate Tern is another species possess-
ing more than ordinary interest to British
naturalists, because it was first made known to
science by Montagu, who described it and named it
after its discoverer, from a skin which had been
obtained by Dr. MacDougall of Glasgow on one of
the Cumbrae Islands in the Firth of Clyde. The
worthy Doctor found this species breeding sparingly
in company with a large colony of Common Terns,
and furnished Montagu not only with the specimen
that he described in the Supplement to his famous
Ornithological Dictionary, but with particulars of
its habits and characteristics. This was between
eighty and ninety years ago. Selby afterwards found
it breeding on the Fame Islands, and it was also
discovered breeding in various other parts of the
British Islands. Its best-known resorts were these
famous islets oif the Northumbrian coast, but other
185
i86 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
stations were on the Scilly Isles, on Foulney and
Walney off the Lancashire coast, as well as other
islets off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland.
Possibly the Fame Islands have never been
absolutely deserted by the Roseate Tern, and
though extinct now in most of its old retreats, it
still breeds upon them, and is likely to continue
doing so now that the birds upon them are being
strictly preserved, purely, we believe, by private
enterprise. In 1896, Dr. Sharpe was informed of
another " nice little colony " established in Wales ;
so that reasonable hopes may be entertained of the
beautiful Roseate Tern thoroughly re-establishing
itself in our islands, after being apparently on the
very brink of extinction. Great care, however, will
be necessary, and the few resorts of this species kept
as secret as possible, and free from the intrusion of
trading and grabbing collectors. It is possible that
the scarcity of this Tern is in a measure due to the
persecution of man, but another cause, and a more
serious one, may be found in the fact that the bird
is driven off by the more powerful Common Tern.
Mr. Saunders was assured by Dr. Bureau that no
less than three colonies of the Roseate Tern had
succumbed to the larger species on the coast of
Brittany alone.
THE ROSEATE TERN 187
Beyond the British Islands the Roseate Tern has
a very extensive range along the coast-line of the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans. From the western
coasts of France we trace it as a breeding species
up the Mediterranean, in Tunis, and round the
African coasts, thence to the Mascarene Islands,
Ceylon, the Andaman Islands, the Malay Archipe-
lago, North and West Australia, and New Cale-
donia. Returning to the Atlantic, we find this
Tern recorded from the Azores, formerly breeding
on the Bermudas, and nesting along the coasts and
islands of Eastern America, from Central America,
and the West Indies northwards to Massachusetts.
The Roseate Tern is unquestionably a tropic
species migrating north and south in the Old
World to breed, but northwards only in the New
World, so far as is at present known.
The habits of the Roseate Tern, so far as they
have been observed, very closely resemble those of
allied species. The bird is eminently a coast one,
attached to the shore and the islands near it. To
the British area it is a summer migrant only, and
a late one, not reaching its breeding-places until
nearly the end of May. Its flight and actions
generally are very similar to the Common Tern ; but
its black bill and rosy-tinted under parts, its shorter
i88 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
wings and longer tail, render identification easy,
and prevent any confusion with the better-known
species. Its note is the usual kree. The food of
this Tern apparently consists entirely of small fish,
which it catches by dropping down upon them
Gannet-like, or whilst supporting itself with rapidly
beating wings just above the water.
The favourite breeding haunts of the Roseate
Tern are low, rocky islands with sand and shingle
beaches. No nest is apparently made in this
country ; but Brewer states that a little dry grass
and seaweed are collected by the birds breeding in
some American stations ; whilst M. Blanc assured
Mr. Whitaker that in Tunis, where this species has
only recently been discovered nesting, grass bents
occasionally line the hollow in which the egg is
deposited. There is considerable diversity of
opinion respecting the number of eggs laid by
this Tern. Most authorities agree in saying two
or three eggs form a clutch ; but Mr. Proud (from
his experience at the Welsh colony noticed above)
asserts that never more than two are laid ; whilst,
lastl}', M. Blanc in Tunis maintains that but one is
laid. They var}' in ground colour from creamy
buff to huffish brown, blotched, spotted, and clouded
with reddish brown and pale grey. As this Tern
THE ROSEATE TERN 189
is a late migrant to arrive in Britain in spring,
it is equally an early one to depart in autumn,
flying south as soon as the young are able to fly.
The adult male Roseate Tern has the general
colour of the upper parts pale slate grey, palest on
the rump, upper tail coverts, and secondaries ; the
tail, which is deeply forked, is pale grey, the long
slender outermost feathers nearly white ; the crown
and nape are black ; the cheeks, throat, and entire
under surface white, flushed with a delicate rose
tint, which, however, fades sooner or later after
death. The female resembles the male in colour.
The young are barred with black on the upper
parts ; the head and nape are brownish black,
streaked with white ; the under parts want the
rosy flush. This Tern may be recognised by the
white inner webs of the primaries. The length is
about fourteen inches.
THE GREAT SKUA
{STERCORARIUS CATARRHACTES)
rpHIS imposing species seems always to have
-^ been a particularly local one in the British
Islands, and there appears to be no reliable
evidence that it ever bred in any part of them
except the Shetiands. One would have thought
that in such a remote locality the bird would
have been fairly safe, but of late years it has
been mercilessly harassed by collectors, and at one
time reduced almost to the verge of extinction.
It is, however, most gratifying to record that
stringent measures for its preservation were taken
in time, with the result that it is now on the
increase. All lovers of our British birds must
feel grateful to the Edmonston family for their
efforts to preserve and protect this at one time
vanishing species, and rejoice in the success which
has attended them. It is pleasing to know that
such efforts have already been acknowledged and
THE GREAT SKUA 191
rewarded by the Zoological Society of London
bestowing a silver medal on the Great Skua's
preservers. The two colonies of this species are
situated on Unst and Foula. In the spring of
1891, Mr. Thomas Edmonston engaged a special
keeper to live for three months on Hermanness,
" to keep watch and ward by night and day over
the Skuas' home." Early in May nine pairs of
Skuas returned to the ancient nesting-place, two
pairs of which unfortunately settled beyond the
sacred limits of protection, and their eggs in due
course were stolen. The other seven pairs, thanks
to careful and ceaseless watching, succeeded in
rearing their broods. At the neighbouring colony
of Foula about a hundred pairs of birds appeared
in the spring of 1891, and although most of the
eggs of the first laying were taken, about sixty
young were reared out of the second attempt. Mr.
Edmonston, we should say, is of the opinion that
the Great Skua will not increase much beyond its
present numbers, because the Lesser Black-backed
Gull and the Herring Gull are decreasing, and on
these species the Skua chiefly depends for its
piratical livelihood. " Protection for the Skuas,"
he writes, "implies some measure of protection
also for the Gulls; but unless the latter greatly
192 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
increase, the former cannot be expected to do so.
In existing conditions, and pending a possible
large increase in the number of Gulls, it is nearly
certain that the Skua colony can only be increased
by enlarging the area of ground protected."
Would that many another persecuted and fast-
vanishing British species could find sucli pro-
tectors as the Great Skua has found in Shetland !
To any other part of the British Islands the Great
Skua is only a wanderer, and it is scarcely ever
seen in Ireland at all.
The range of the Great Skua beyond the British
area, although extending across the Atlantic, is
comparatively a restricted one. The bird breeds
in the Faroes and Iceland, but is said by Hagerup
to be only occasionally seen in South Greenland ;
whilst in America it is said to breed near Hudson
Strait. In winter it wanders down the West
European coasts to Iberia and Morocco, but seldom
j^asses through the Straits of Gibraltar; whilst on
the American side it is said to wander as low as
New England.
The Great Skua is a thoroughly oceanic species,
gifted, like most of its order, with ample powers
of wing. It may aptly be described as the
feathered pirate of the northern seas, depending
thp: great skua 193
largely for food upon the Gulls, which it pursues
unmercifully, and with great fierceness compels
to drop or even to disgorge the fish they have
caught. The Gulls dread the Skua almost as
much as they fear the Peregrine ; it follows them
in their quest for food often for long distances
from land, and by its greater powers of flight is
able to chase and rob them at will. To a great
extent this Skua is solitary in its habits, except
during the breeding season, and even then it
keeps much in pairs, although assembled in con-
siderable numbers, as Saxby long ago remarked.
The usual note of the Great Skua is an oft-
repeated ag, ag ; but under the excitement of
chasing Gulls it utters a loud note, which has
been likened to the word skua or skui — hence
the bird's name. The food of this species consists
largely of fish stolen from the Gulls; the bird
will also catch them for itself. Wounded or
weakly birds, especially the nestlings of other
sea birds, of!al from the fishing-boats, and even
carrion on the beach, are also devoured.
By the end of April the Skuas that breed within
our area begin to assemble at the old accustomed
haunts, which are wild moorlands at no great
distance from the sea. Numbers of nosts an;
194 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
scattered over a comparatively small area, so that
the bird must be considered a social one at this
season. The nest seems always to be made upon
the ground, and is generally little more than a
hollow in the moss or turf, in which a few bits of
dry grass have been arranged as a lining. The
eggs are two in number, and var}^ from pale buff
to dark huffish brown in ground colour, somewhat
obscurely and sparingly marked with dark brown
and oTcyish brown. All observers who have
visited the breeding-grounds of this Skua have
been impressed with the bold way in which it
seeks to defend its eggs or helpless young. Fear-
lessly flying round the intruder's head, both male
and female ad^'ance towards him, swooping down
as if about to strike, and showing little fear even
at the report of a gun. Dogs are beaten off the
sacred spot, and even the powerful White-tailed
Eagle or the Raven are glad to retire before
such spirited and angry attacks. But one brood
is reared in the season ; but if the first
clutch of eggs be taken, another will be produced.
As soon as the young are reared, the breeding-
places are more or less deserted, and for the
remainder of the year the birds lead a mari-
time life, wandering far and wide over the
THE GREAT SKUA 195
surrounding seas in their piratical quest of
food.
The general colour of the upper parts of the
Great Skua is dark brown, mottled and streaked
with paler brown, palest on the nape, which is
clothed with somewhat pointed feathers ; the
quills are dark brown with white bases, very con-
spicuous when the wings are outspread ; the tail
also is brown, the feathers having concealed Avhite
bases. The under parts are pale rufous brown,
streaked on the breast and flanks with darker
brown. The female is said to be a little larger
than the male, otherwise similar in colour. Young
birds resemble their parents in colour, but are
a trifle more marked with rufous on the back,
and the feathers on the nape are not quite so
pointed. The total length of this Skua is about
twenty-two inches.
SOME THREATENED BRITISH
SPECIES
"ITTE may aptly bring the first part of the present
volume to a close by a brief review of certain
species which, though not exactly threatened with
speedy extermination, are or have become suffici-
ently local to bring such a fate within the bounds
of probability. In almost every case, the species
concerning which these warning words are penned
have most to fear from the persecution of man,
from indiscriminate robbing of their nests, or
slaughter of the old birds themselves for the sake
of their skins. The professional dealer in objects
of this description is greatly to blame, but we think
the purchaser of his wares is worthy of greater
censure.
Our first species is the Dartf ord Warbler {Sylvia
provincialis), which is not only a very local bird,
but one whose distribution in our area is extremely
limited. It is a resident in most of the southern
196
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 197
counties of England from Cornwall eastwards,
thence northwards along the Thames valley and
through some of the Midland districts — Worcester-
shire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, to the extreme
south of Yorkshire, where years ago we have
taken its nest. A few may also breed in Cambridge-
shire, Norfolk, and Suffolk. The Dartford Warbler
is another of those species which, in the event of
the indigenous stock becoming extinct, can never
be replaced by normal means. This species has
been considerably reduced of late years by severe
winters — a contingency to which our summer
migrants are not exposed. To this cause the late
Henry Swaysland attributed its almost complete
disappearance from the gorse coverts of Sussex.
Collectors of birds and eggs also harass this inter-
esting little Warbler not a little. Fortunately, it is
of secretive habits, and its nest is very difficult to
find ; but, notwithstanding these facts, the bird
should be carefully protected during the breeding
season, and the taking of its eggs made illegal in
the several counties which it frequents.
Our next threatened species is the Chough
(Pyrrlwcorax grac ulus). This species was formerly
much commoner and more widely dispersed than
it is now, and though " once upon a time " a dweller
198 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
in inland localities, at the present day maritime
cliffs are almost its sole remaining stronghold. It
still breeds, if in diminishing numbers, from Dorset
west to Cornwall. A few birds bi'eed on Lundy
Island ; colonies here and there exist along the rock-
bound coasts of Wales, as well as in one or two
inland localities in that countr}' ; a few still nest
in the Isle of Man, and possibly in Cumberland.
Up the west coast of Scotland it is fairly well
established, especially on the Island of Islay, and
in smaller numbers in Jura and Skye. In Ireland
its chief resorts are along the coasts of Kerry, Mayo,
Donegal, Antrim, Waterford, and Cork. It also
still continues to breed on the Blaskets. The most
singular thing about the decrease of this species is
that it cannot fairly be attributed to persecution by
man or the destruction of its ancient strongholds.
Evidence is not wanting that the decrease of the
Chough is contemporaneous with the increase of
the Jackdaw in each particular locality, and it
seems probable that the stronger Daw is ousting
the Chough from its ancestral homes. We would
suggest by way of experiment, that where the.se
interlopers seem actually to be dispossessing the
Choughs, a reduction of their numbers should be
made. Collectors work some harm in the more
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 199
accessible districts, whilst the Peregrine is credited
with the work of extermiuation in others. The
Chough is fairl}?- well established in our islands
at present ; but the tendency towards decrease is
certainly marked, and the species requires to be
carefully watched by the preserving naturalist.
The Golden Oriole (Oriolus galhida), is the next
species concerning which we have a few warning
words to write. Ordinary readers are scarcely
aware how frequently this handsome and con-
spicuous bird visits the British Islands, or that
it has actually bred in them. So far as we can
see, there is nothing to prevent the Golden Oriole
becoming as common this side of the English
Channel (as it most probably was in remoter ages)
as it is on the other. The bird is said to be
a regular spring visitor to the Scilly Islands
and Cornwall, and thence onwards through the
southern counties as far as Norfolk, but with
perhaps lesser frequency. It must be remembered
that such very showy birds have difficulty in pene-
trating far after once landing on such inhospitable
shores as ours. Possibly this bird has bred in
Kent, Surrey, Essex, Northamptonshire, and
Norfolk. Mr. Harting records that a pair reared
a brood at Dumpton Park in the Isle of Thanet in
200 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
1874, thanks to the protection and consideration
shown them by the proprietor ; and again return-
ing the following year to meet with similar success.
Possibly the poor birds were destroyed on migra-
tion before a third effort could be made. The fact,
however, very clearly proves that there is a normal
migration of this species to Britain, and every effort
should be made to encourage and protect such
handsome, musical, and interesting birds. Their
beauty, alas ! is a fatal attraction to every owner
of a gun, to every " collector " of British birds ; and
until English people show more kindly forbearance,
we are afraid the Golden Oriole's attempts to settle
amongst us will be futile.
Next on our warning list comes the Hobby (Falco
subhuteo), which, through being a summer visitor
only to our English woodlands, is fortunately only
exposed for half the time to that wanton persecu-
tion so persistently bestowed upon all our indi-
genous birds of prey. We have personal knowledge
of the ruthless way in which the nests of this Falcon
have been robbed over entire districts season after
season, to supply certain dealers in birds' eggs,
only too eager to meet the demand for British-
taken specimens. To this wholesale taking of the
eggs must be added the incessant persecution of
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 201
gamekeepers, so that the only wonder is the Hobby
exists as a British species at all. This pretty little
Falcon arrives in those English woodlands where
it breeds in small numbers in May. Its summer
resorts in England are principally in the south-
eastern and midland counties of England, including
Hampshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge-
shire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northampton-
shire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. It has only been
known to nest on one occasion in Scotland. We
may also add that the Hobby, for a raptorial bird, is
a comparatively harmless one, its food consisting
chiefly of insects and small birds ; but the latter do
not appear to be killed in any great numbers. Our
stock of indigenous Hobbys may yet be far from
exhausted ; still, we have the fate of the Honey
Buzzard and the Harriers before us, and it behoves
us to afford the present species some protection
before it is reduced to a mere remnant. We may
here take the opportunity of alluding to the
Goshawk {Astiir paluTnbarius), and to state, in our
opinion, that this species was never indigenous
to the British area within historical time. Cer-
tainly there is no evidence for it which can
be classed as thoroughly reliable, and there
can be little doubt that this Hawk was never
202 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
more than it is now, an abnormal visitor on
migration.
Passing allusion might here also be made to
Baillon's Crake (Crex bailloni), and the Spotted
Crake (Crex porzana), the iormer of which may
just possibly breed within our area; whilst the
latter, although far less common than formerly, is
still a regular summer visitor to various parts of the
kingdom. Drainage and enclosure of swamps and
fens lias curtailed the haunts of these birds, and we
express the hope that both species may be shown
consideration by sportsmen and collectors.
We now have to appeal on behalf of that ex-
quisite little bird, the Lesser Tern (Sterna minuta).
It is a species that has sadly decreased in numbers
during the last twenty years. From some localities
it has entirely disappeared; from others it is
rapidly vanishing. To a great extent the exter-
mination of this species is due to the bird's habit of
frequenting the coast rather than islands for nesting
purposes. This places it absolutely at the mercy of
every wandering rascal. Haunts of the Lesser Tern
on the Lincolnshire coast that I knew years ago
contained scores of pairs, are now deserted, and I
attribute this to the rapid rise of certain watering-
places in their vicinit}'. Season after season the
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 203
poor little birds lost almost every egg, picked up by
excursionists ; year after year their once secluded
shingles became the summer resort of crowds of
despoiling " trippers," and the Lesser Tern has
disappeared. This has gone on in many other
places ; but we are glad to hear that in some
localities efficient steps are being taken to preserve
this Tern from extinction. We are afraid this will
be an exceptionally difficult task, owing to the
habits of the bird ; still, it should not prove an
insuperable one. It is useless, perhaps, to appeal
to seaside visitors, and we fear that in all the more
populous parts of the coast where the Lesser Tern
breeds, the bird sooner or later will become extinct.
We might add that a great many Lesser Terns have
been shot for the sake of their plumes, the bird
from its small size being in great requisition by
milliners.
A few passing words must now be said for the
Divers. We have at least two species of these
breeding within our limits, whilst a third is better
known as a winter visitor to the coasts. There
may not be any very urgent necessity for pro-
tecting these birds at present ; but there is no
doubt they are disturbed a good deal during the
nesting season, and their eggs taken, whilst in
204 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
winter many individuals are shot in the most
wanton manner and left where they fall. This, wc
regret to say, is a frequent occurrence off the
coasts of South Devon, more especially with regard
to the Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis).
We doubt very much if this species ever bred in
the British Islands ; but the two following Divers
do so, and it is respecting these that our remarks
are chiefly made. The Black - throated Diver
(Colymbus arcticus), is by far the rarest and most
local species, although we are glad to say it still
breeds in considerable numbers, not only in the
Hebrides and the Orkneys, but on the mainland
from Argyll northwards to Caithness. The Red-
throated Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis), has
much the same range in our islands, frequenting
most of the coasts during autumn and winter, and
occupying a very similar distributional area in
summer, but including the Shetlands. This Diver
also breeds sparingly in Ireland, in which country
the Black-throated Diver is rarely seen at any
season, and has never been known to nest. The
Divers probably owe their immunity from per-
secution to the inaccessibility and remoteness of
their breeding haunts ; but every year tourists
are overrunning the land in ever - increasing
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 205
numbers, penetrating more out-of-the-way districts,
and the Divers should not be overlooked by those
most capable of preserving and protecting them.
Experience has repeatedly shown us that species
once plentiful have very rapidly decreased in
numbers, and finall}^ become extinct, when their
haunts have been exposed to disturbing influences.
The Great-crested Grebe (Podicipes cristatus),
is also worthy of mention in the present chapter.
We all know that it is a fairly common resident
in the British Islands, breeding on the banks of
many lakes and meres in England and Wales, as
well as in Ireland and the extreme south of
Scotland. But we also know that the plumage of
this Grebe is held in great request by the furrier,
and that the poor bird suffers much persecution
in consequence. Once let " grebe " become fashion-
able for a few seasons — as we hear it is likely to
be — and our indigenous stock of birds may soon be
greatly reduced, and one of the most handsome
bird ornaments of our inland waters well-nigh
extirpated. We draw the attention of our bird
lovers and bird preservers to the Great-crested
Grebe, because we honestly think it requires more
protection than it now receives. After all, we
cannot be too alert in these matters ; for, taught by
2o6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
bitter experience, wc know that many another
species once common enough is now excessively
rare or even lost to our avifauna for ever.
The Grey Lag Goose {Avser cinereus) must also
be included in this w^arning list of threatened
species. Down to the close of the last century, this
Goose — the only species of Anser indigenous to the
British Islands — bred in more or less abundance in
the English Fenlands. Here the wholesale capture
of the young birds, together with the drainage
and enclosure of its favourite haunts, have been
the causes of its extermination. The wonder is
that it actually survived in the English lowlands
so long. Nowadays it breeds locally and in com-
paratively small numbers on the Hebrides, and on
the Scotch mainland in Ross-shire, Sutherlandshire,
and Caithness. Sixteen j^'ears ago we had ample
evidence of the absolute abundance of this Goose in
certain parts of the Outer Hebrides ; but now there
is a very perceptible falling off, and everywhere
the birds appear to be on the decrease. Per-
secution by man, the robbing of eggs and j^^oung, is
decimating the indigenous stock, and we seem to be
well within sight of their complete extermination.
We trust this may be averted, for we should indeed
be sorry to see these wild Geese go the way of so
SOME THREATENED BRITISH SPECIES 207
many other species. It would be ;i pity if the
semi-domesticated Grey Lag Geese that make their
home at Castle Coole in Ireland are to become the
sole surviving relics in Britain of a species which
possesses so great an interest to naturalists.
We conclude our list with the Goosander (Mergus
merganser). This remarkable and handsome bird
breeds very locally in the Highlands of Scotland,
in Sutherlandshire, Argyleshire, and Perthshire.
There is even some evidence to suggest that the
Goosander is slowly increasing as a British species ;
but this may, on the other hand, be due to the
closer search for its nest. Whatever the facts may
be, Scottish naturalists especially should endeavour
to preserve this bird from extermination. We
have few handsomer native species.
Words of protest might here be written against
the cruel and wanton slaughter of many another
British bird, at present too common to come within
the list of absolutely threatened species. Of these
we may mention the Magpie, the Jay, the Hawfinch,
the Bullfinch, the Goldfinch, the Sky Lark and
Wood Lark, the Nuthatch, the Nightingale, the
Woodpeckers, the Kingfisher, the Owls, the Kestrel,
the Sparrow-hawk, the Lapwing, and many sea
birds. Many, if not all of these birds, leaving
2o8 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
all sentiment aside, are absolutely useful to agri-
culture and horticulture; many of them rank as
our most beautiful species. Why need we talk
of importing foreign species for their beauty, to
adorn our woods and fields, when we have such
charmingly arrayed indigenous birds as the Magpie
and the Jay, the Goldfinch, the Woodpeckers, the
Kingfisher, and the Lapwing ? — all of them clad in
raiment as fair as that of many exotic species, and
all of them endeared to us by the oldest associations.
Our Bird Protection Acts, admirable as was the
spirit that prompted them, are weak and impotent,
because their enforcement is nobody's business.
We think the time has come for something stronger
than a protest, when about one-fifth of the in-
digenous avifauna — many of the species of the
highest usefulness or entirely harmless — of the
British Islands is threatened with more or less
speedy extermination ! Much has been accom-
plished already, but more will have to be done:
and bird lovers must not, cannot rest until their
favourites are in a position of greater security
than they are to-day.
Part 11
^
LOST AND VANISHING
EXOTIC BIRDS
i-i
' „'\h,
ii.1,"". 'H. Jfm
<
o
■r - ■■^,^^1 (II ■ ■ ■Ui^fj^f^.,-^„,-
"<
LOST EXOTIC BIRDS
THE MAMO
{drepanis pa CI pica )
"ITTE intend to devote the second part of the
present volume to a brief notice not only of
some foreign species of birds that have become
extinct within the historic period, but of others
which are excessively rare, or on the verge of
actual extinction, or threatened with extermination
if prompt measures be not taken for their preserva-
tion. The record of extinction covering the past
three or four hundred years is a most lamentable
one. Many curious forms have vanished entirely,
leaving but the scantiest particulars of their
characteristics and habits behind them ; respecting
others, we have more complete records; whilst
some, indeed, have disappeared so recently that
212 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
their absence yet can scarcely be realised, and of
these our information is in most cases more
satisfactory.
Our first species carries us away to the fair
islands of the Pacific, the home of so many rare
and curious birds, doomed, alas ! to speedy extirpa-
tion. The bird in question is the Mamo, or Pacific
Sickle - bill, a species confined to the Sandwich
Islands, where it was once very common, but
is now so rare that less than half a dozen
examples are known to exist in collections. Few
as these are, there can be little doubt that they
represent the surviving relics of the species, for all
recent efforts to find it in a living state have
proved fruitless. The extei^mination of the Mamo
cannot be attributed to civilised man. In this
case savage man has been the delinquent, destroy-
ing the bird for the sake of its beautiful golden-
yellow plumage, which was made up into war-
cloaks for the Hawaiian kings, and into necklaces
for their women. The feathers in request were
those from the back of the bird, and to obtain them
small bunches were received by the kings as a
poll-tax from their poorer subjects, and a regular
staff of bird-catchers were employed by the chiefs
to augment the supply. Only a few feathers from
THE MAMO 213
each bird wore suitable, so that many thousands of
birds had to be destroyed to furnish the material
for a single robe. Formerly, as we ojather from
Mr. Lucas, the kings, chiefs, and other noble
Hawaiians wore these flowing capes or robes when-
ever they appeared in public on state occasions,
either in peace or war, these garments having the
same significance and being as eagerly coveted as
the ermine and purple in feudal Europe. One of
the most gorgeous of these robes was that belonging
to Katnehamcha i., a powerful king, who not only
conquered but united all the islands of the group
under his sway. Mr. Scott Wilson, who visited
the Sandwich Islands specially to search for the
Mamo, H-AyH that the manufacture of this great
yellow war - cloak had been in progress during
the reign of eight preceding kings. " Its length is
four feet, and it has a spread of eleven and a half
feet at the bottom, the whole having the appearance
of a mantle of gold." With the above facts before
us, it is not improbable that savage man has exter-
minated many brilliantly-coloured birds of which
we have not any knowledge whatever. There is
another allied bird in the Sandwich Islands which
has suffered much persecution for the sake of its
feathers, the O-o (Acrulocercus nobilis), but in this
214 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
case the procuration of the plumes does not involve
death, the coveted feathers (a tuft under the wing)
being pulled out, and the bird restored to liberty.
The Mamo was an exquisitely beautiful bird,
having most of the upper parts black, with the
exception of the lower back, rump, and upper tail
coverts, which are yellow ; many of the smaller
feathers on the wing are yellow, but the quills are
black ; the tail also is black ; the under wing
coverts white ; the general colour of the under parts
dusky, except the vent and the thighs, which are
yellow. The total length of this bird was about
eight inches ; the bill, long, slender, and sickle-
shaped, nearly two inches in length.
THE DODO
{did us INEPTUS)
A LTHOUGH the precise year in which the
^ island home of the Dodo was discovered is
unknown, there can be no doubt that the earliest
mention of the bird is contained in an account
of the voyage of the Dutch Admiral Van Neck
to Mauritius in 1598, published a year or so
afterwards. De Bry, the chronicler of this
voyage, alludes to the Dodos which were met
with on the island, and, so far as we know, seen
for the first time by man, as birds " bigger than
our Swans, with large heads, half of which is
covered with skin like a hood. These birds
want wings, in place of which are three or four
blackish feathers. The tail consists of a few
slender curved feathers of a grey colour." These
Dutch pioneers christened the Dodos Walckvogel —
disgusting or nauseous birds — on account of their
poor gastronomic qualities, only the breast being
2i6 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
palatable, but probably also because better and
more toothsome meat could be obtained on the
island — Doves, tortoises, turtles, and fish, which in
those days abounded. The poor Dodo, however,
was never allowed to remain in peace for long, and
the next vessel to reach the island decimated the
unfortunate species. This was in 1601, ^Yhen a
ship commanded by Van West Zannen touched at
Mauritius, his crew, he tells us, capturing twenty-
four Dodos one day and twenty on another, " so
large and heavy that they could not eat anj- tM'o
of them for dinner." Van Zannen sailed away
with his larder well stocked with salted Dodos :
and in ensuing years other ships appeared from
time to time to seek supplies of fresh meat ; and
in less than a hundred years after its discovery
the wonderful bird had ceased to exist.
But little definite seems known respecting the
habits and economy of the Dodo. That it was a
terrestrial species there can be no doubt. Francois
Cauche, who made a lengthy stay upon the island
in 1638, furnished more or less trustworthy par-
ticulars of the bird, describing its cry as like that
of a Gosling, and its single white egg, " the size of
a halfpenny roll," laid on a heap of herbs in the
forest. It is matter for surprise that so few
THE DODO 217
examples of this curiovis bird found their way to
Europe. Roelandt Savary, a Dutch artist, appears
to have made many paintings of the Dodo from
life, so that a few captives must have been brought
to Holland, and possibly to Austria. About 1638
a captive Dodo appears to have been exhibited in
London, Sir Hamon Lestrange recording how he
went into the show to see the strange bird that
was called by its keeper a "Dodo," and which
appears to have been an adept at swallowing
pebbles as big as nutmegs. For more than seventy
years the Ashmolean collection at Oxford appears
to have contained a specimen of the Dodo ; but
in 1755 it was destroyed, the head and right foot
only being preserved, and still in existence in the
museum of the Oxford University. A left foot of
the Dodo more than two hundred years old is in
the British Museum ; and a head of about the same
antiquity, so far as records go, is in the Museuin at
Copenhagen.
How long this curious bird had dwelt in peace
upon the island of Mauritius, whence it came or
whether it had been evolved in the place where
man discovered it, are questions concerning the
Dodo which will probably never be satisfactorily^
answered. Its extermination, however, was entirelv
2i8 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
due to the action of civilised man. When he came
upon the scene, he found the Dodo so utterly un-
suspicious, tame, defenceless, and even stupid (its
name is derived from the Portuguese D6udo, a
simpleton), that its capture was simple and easy
enough. From what we know, it must have been
a heavy, clumsy bird, quite unable to elude any
ordinary pursuit ; it was incapable of flight, and
could doubtless only waddle in a slow, lumbering
manner before its pursuers. The various animals
introduced into Mauritius by man also assisted in
exterminating the Dodo. When we bear in mind
the remoteness of its home, and the comparatively
small number of human beings that could visit it,
together with the desultory nature of those visits,
the extermination of the Dodo was a rapid one ;
and so quickly and completely did the species
vanish, that doubt was widely expressed as to
whether the bird had ever existed at all !
The Dodo, with a couple of other allied species
which dwelt on neighbouring islands, constitute
the family Dididse, most nearly allied to the
Pigeons — a group whose origin may probably date
back, according to Dr. Wallace, to early Tertiary
times. The Dodo, like the Great Auk, there can
be little doubt, owed its flightless condition to the
THE DODO 219
disuse of its wings, probably through long resi-
dence upon an island free from enemies, and where
aerial locomotion was unnecessary to its existence.
As the wings became more and more abortive, the
body possibly grew in bulk, owing to a sedentary
habit, until at last flight became impossible. We
cannot, however, endorse all Dr. Wallace's views
respecting the origin of these curious Didine forms ;
and it seems to us by no means improbable that
the group was more widely dispersed at some
earlier epoch.
From the numerous paintings of the Dodo which
are in existence — some of which we have had the
pleasure of examining — we may infer that the
bird was a big-bodied one, with short, clumsy legs,
enormous head, and huge, ungainly-looking, hooked
bill. The body was clothed in loose plumage, the
quills alone being rigid, the tail plumose. Its
general colour appeared to be dark grey, the breast
brown, and the wings and tail white.
THE SOLITAIRE
{PRZO.PHAPS SOL/TAR I a)
nriHE vernacular name now borne by this extinct
bird of Rodriguez was originally given to
another and doubtless allied species by the French
colonists of Bourbon or Reunion. As nothing
definite appeai-s to be known of this latter species,
the name may ha retained by the Rodriguez Island
bird, and which was bestowed upon it by Leguat,
its earliest historian. The Dodo had been found
and exterminated before the present species became
known, if we attribute the absolute discovery
of the Solitaire to the Huguenot, Leguat; but
Professor Newton has shown that earlier ex-
plorers may have been familiar with it, or heard
of it, if the}'^ confused it with the Dodo. What-
ever the real facts may be, to Leguat we are
indebted for our only knowledge of the character-
istics and habits of the Solitaire of Rodriguez.
THE SOLITAIRE 221
In 1691 he visited the island with the object
of founding a colony there, but, fortunately for
naturalists, he seems to have devoted more of
his time to watching the habits of the Solitaire
than to his settlement, which came to an end in a
couple of years. The accuracy of his account of
this bird had long been doubted, but subsequent
researches have confirmed its truth in almost every
important particular. From Leguat's interesting
account (published in 1708) of the long extinct
Solitaire we make the following extract : —
" Of all the birds in the island the most remark-
able is that which goes by the name of the Solitaire,
because it is very seldom seen in company, though
there are abundance of them.
" The feathers of the males are of a brown-grey
colour ; the feet and beak are like a Turkey's, but
a little more crooked. They have scarce any tail,
but their hind part covered with feathers is roundish,
like the crupper of a horse ; they are taller than
Turkeys. Their neck is straight, and a little longer
in proportion than a Turkey's when it lifts up his
head. Its eye is black and lively, and its head
'without comb or cop. They never fly, their wings
are too little to support the weight of their bodies ;
222 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
they serve only to beat themselves, and flutter when
they call one another.
" They will whirl about for twenty or thirty times
together on the same side, during the space of four
or five minutes. The motion of their wings makes
then a noise very like that of a rattle ; and one
may hear it two hundred paces off. The bone of
their wing grows greater toward the extremity,
and forms a little round mass under the feathers,
as big as a musket ball. That and its beak are the
chief defence of this bird. 'Tis very hard to catch
it in the woods, but easy in open places, because
we run faster than they, and sometimes we approach
them without much trouble. From March to Sep-
tember they are extremely fat, and taste admirably
well, especially while they are young. Some of
the males weigh forty-five pounds.
"Though these birds will sometimes very
familiarly come up near enough to one, when we
do not run after them, yet they will never grow
tame. As soon as they are caught, they shed tears
without crying, and refuse all manner of sustenance
till they die.
" When these birds build their nests, they choose
a clean place, gather together some palm-leaves for
that purpose, and heap them up a foot and a half
THE SOLITAIRE 223
high from the ground, on which they sit. They
never lay but one egg, which is much bigger than
that of a Goose. The male and female both cover
it in their turns ; and the young, which is not able
to provide for itself in several months, is not
hatched till at seven weeks' end. All the while
they are sitting upon it they will not suffer any
other bird of theii' species to come within two
hundred yards round of the place ; but what is
very singular is, the males will never drive away
the females, only when he perceives one he makes
a noise with his wings to call the female, and she
drives the unwelcome stranger away, not leaving
it till 'tis without her bounds. The female does
the same as to the males, and he drives them away.
We have observed this several times, and I affirm
it to be true.
" The combats between them on this occasion last
sometimes pretty long, because the stranger only
turns about, and does not fly [flee] directly from
the nest. However, the other do not forsake it till
they have quite driven it out of their limits. After
these birds have raised their young one, and left it
to itself, they are always together, which the other
birds are not, and though they happen to mingle
with other birds of the same species, these two
224 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
companions never disunite. We have often re-
marked that some days after the young one leaves
the nest, a company of thirty or forty brings
another young one to it, and the new-fledged bird,
with its father and mother joining with the band,
march to some bye place. We frequently followed
them, and found that afterwards the old ones went
each their way alone, or in couples, and left the two
young ones together, which we called a marriage.
" This particularity has something in it which
looks a little fabulous, nevertheless what I say is
sincere truth, and what I have more than once
observed with care and pleasure."
Many bones of the Solitaire have been recovered
by various investigators, so that the osteology of
the species is accuratel}' known, thanks to the
unwearying efforts of Professor Newton and his
accomplished brother, the late Sir Edward Newton.
These bones were mostly procured from caves ; but
their age seems unknown, although said to belong
to a period previous to the colonisation of the
island. When we read Leguat's charming and
quaint description of this long extinct bird, our
wonder increases that so little has been recorded
concerning the Great Auk, which dwelt in more
THE SOLITAIRE 225
accessible parts of the world, and has become
extinct so recently, yet, notwithstanding all this,
it never met with a biographer that can be
compared with the describer of the Solitaire of
Rodriguez.
15
THE PIED DUCK
{CAMPTOLAIMUS LABRADORIUS)
A LTHOUGH the Pied Duck was so well known
to American naturalists, and once so common
that examples were, according to the testimony of
Audubon, Wilson, and other writers, frequently
sold in the markets of New York and Baltimore,
there are not half as many specimens in scien-
tific cabinets and collections as of the Great Auk.
According to Professor Newton, the last example
was obtained in Halifax harbour in the autumn of
1852 ; this specimen was, we believe, until recently
in the collection of Canon Tristram, but may now
be in the Derby Museum at Liverpool. On the
other hand, Mr. Lucas states that no example has
been taken since December 1878 ; but as neither
this nor others said to have been obtained between
the years 1857 and 1871 appear to be in existence,
they cannot well be adduced as evidence. The
extinction of the Pied Duck may not have been so
226
THE PIED DUCK 227
sudden as some naturalists suggest. The evidence
seems to suggest that the species was by no means
a common one in the early days of American
colonisation, and that it must have been on the
verge of extinction a century or more before that
became an accomplished fact. If we admit the
possibility of the above surmise, it is easy to
understand how the Pied Duck was eventually
exterminated, for we know that the remnant of
the species was ruthlessly shot down at the breed-
ing-grounds, and the decimation commenced
undoubtedly by the Indians during earlier epochs
was eventually complete. Again, as Mr. Lucas in-
forms us, " a possible cause for the original depletion
may have been the taking of eggs by the Indians,
for the Eider, which breeds along the southern coast
of Labrador, suffers severely from their depreda-
tions. A small dog is trained to hunt through the
bushes near the water's edge, the favourite nesting-
place of the Eider, while his master silently paddles
along close to the shore to note just where a bird
is driven from the nest, and in this manner many
eggs are taken. Now, if the Labrador [or Pied]
Ducks bred over a comparatively small extent of
country, near the summer camp of a band of
Indians, their original decrease would be readily
228 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
accounted for." In the case of the present species,
we see that not even strong powers of flight were
able to save the bird from extinction — a fact which
emphasises the importance of including the eggs
in any protective measure that may be devised for
saving threatened species. It has been suggested
that some avine epidemic may have assisted in the
work of extermination, but of this there is no ab-
solute evidence. The fate of the Pied Duck may
well serve as a warning to us ; for it shows that
when once a species, or the local indigenous stock
of a species in any particular country, becomes
abnormally reduced in numbers, its tenure of
existence is a weak and slender one, and may be
destroyed almost without any assignable cause.
Several British species are in this position to-day,
in that state in which the Pied Duck was not so
many years ago, and their fate may be similar if
we do not heed the caution in time. Casualties
that under more propitious conditions might only
have had a local influence, may now cause complete
extinction.
The range of the Pied Duck never seems to have
been a very extensive one. In the breeding season
the bird appears to have been confined to Southern
Labrador, and during winter to migrate along the
THE PIED DUCK 229
eastern coasts of America as far as Chesapeake
Bay. But little has been recorded of the habits of
the Pied Duck. Wilson tells us that in his time
it was rather scarce on the coasts, and was never
met with on fresh-water lakes and rivers. By
some gunners it was known as the Sand Shoal
Duck, from its habit of resorting to sand-bars. He
tells us that its principal food appeared to be
shellfish, which it obtained by diving; whilst
Audubon was assured that the bird was caught on
lines baited with mussels. Wilson writes that
nothing more was known of their habits or mode
of breeding. This Duck appears to have nested on
rocky islands, laying its eggs in a nest similar to
that of the Eider.
Whether this species was so closely allied to the
Eiders as some naturalists think, seems extremely
doubtful. All the male Eiders have more or less
green plumage on the head, a characteristic wanting
in the male of the Pied Duck. Then the Eiders
are birds of remarkably limited migrations, but
the subject of the present chapter was noted for
its very distinct seasonal movements. Its general
style and coloration seem to show closer affinities
with the Long-tailed Duck, so that, all things con-
sidered, its generic separation seems reasonable.
230 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
In the adult male Pied Duck the body feathers
and the primaries are black ; the rest of the
wings, the head and neck white ; round the neck a
black collar; on the crown a longitudinal black
stripe. The female is described as plumbeous grey,
slightly darker on the under surface. In size the
Pied Duck was said to be about the same as the
Long-tailed Duck.
PALLAS'S CORMORANT
{PHALACROCORAX PERSPICILLATUS)
A BOUT the same time that the Pied Duck
disappeared from the Atlantic coasts of
America, Pallas's Cormorant became extinct on the
Pacific side of the continent. So far as we know,
this, the largest Cormorant of modern times, was
an inhabitant of Bering Island, where it was dis-
covered by Steller in 1741, when Bering was
wrecked at that spot, the bird being killed for
food by the survivors of the fatality. Steller
informs us that this Cormorant was very abundant ;
and as it is evident that the bird was gifted with
only moderate powers of locomotion on land as
well as in the air, the discovery of its haunt by
civilised man was followed by its rapid extermina-
tion. In about a hundred years it had become
extinct, so far as is known, and all that remains
to us are four skins and a small series of bones !
It is possible that in this case again extirpation has
231
232 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
been largely due to uncivilised man. Dr. Stejneger
was told by the natives of Bering Island that the
flesh of this Cormorant was exceptionally palatable,
and that during the winter, when other meat was
scarce, it formed an article of food more highly
prized than any of the other Cormorants frequent-
ing the place. It is far from improbable that this
noble-looking Cormorant at some distant period
occupied the other Aleutian Islands, where it may
have been slowly hunted to extinction by the
native tribes of those remote regions. From its
great size it must have been eagerly sought, for
Steller informs us that a single bird — weighing
from twelve to fourteen pounds — was suflBcient for
three of his starving shipwrecked crew. In a
somewhat extensive deposit of bones of various
mammals and birds on the north-western extremity
of Bering Island, Dr. Stejneger found — associated
with the bones of Arctic foxes, sea otters, sea lions,
and marine birds — a pelvis and other osteological
remains of Pallas's Cormorant ; whilst on a second
visit to the island in 1895, amongst additional
bones he obtained another pelvis and a cranium.
Of the habits of this Cormorant nothing what-
ever appears to be known. They were doubtless
very similar to those of better-known species of
PALLAS'S CORMORANT 233
Cormorants, but the bird does not seem to have
used its wings so much, and possibly was most
active in the water.
As previously stated, Pallas's Cormorant was the
largest of its family known to science. Its general
colour was dark green, glossed with blue on the
neck and with purple on the scapulars. The
shafts of the tail were white. In the nuptial
season the neck was adorned with long pale
yellow filaments. Round the eyes was a broad
ring of bare white skin — hence the specific
name.
SOME OTHER EXTINCT FORMS
A S it is impossible within the limits of the
present work to deal with each species that
has become extinct during comparatively recent
times, we may here make passing allusion to a few
of the most notable instances, before dealing with a
selection of those exotic species that are threatened
with more or less speedy extirpation. As we have
already shown, island species have suffered most ;
and many of these are unfortunately surviving
forms of avifaunas that have usually disappeared
from other parts of the world, or always been
excessively local. Many of these avine species
have been lost before any detailed studies of their
anatomy and habits have been made, many more
are fast going, so that it behoves naturalists and
anatomists to lose no time in making themselves
acquainted with the various facts. In few other
parts of the world has extirpation been more
extended and disastrous than in the series of
234
SOME OTHER EXTINCT FORMS 235
islands in the Indian Ocean known collectively
as the Mascarenes. Within this area formerly
flourished the Dodo and its kindred ; from one or
other of these famous islands species after species
has disappeared for ever. First we may mention
the giant Coot that formerly dwelt in the waters of
Mauritius, and the Crested Parrot (Lojjhopsittacus
mauritianus), together with that Barn-Owl-like
bird, Aluco sauzieri; the Dove (Alectorcenas
nitidissinia), as well as the flightless Ralline bird,
Aphanaptery?\ Then from another island in this
area has finally disappeared that curious Starling
(Fregilupus varius), which had its home within
the last half-century in Reunion; whilst from
lonely Rodriguez — the home, as we have already
seen, of the Solitaire — many another has dropped
completely out of existence. We have records of
what appears to be another form of Aphanapteryx,
a small Owl (Athene mmrivora), a peculiar Parrot
(Necropsittacus rodericanus) ; a Heron (Ardea
megacephala) ; and possibly we may now have to
add a Paroquet (Palceornis exsul). Passing on to
the Antipodes, we find extirpation prevailing with
grievous frequency, as we have already shown in
our opening chapter. Dr. Forbes gives a list of no
less than seventeen species which formerly lived
236 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
on the Chatham Islands, and every one of which
has become extinct. Continuing across the Pacific,
the same story has to be told ; species after species
had gone for ever ; and here especially the
trading collector (and we are afraid the scientific
one, too) has played, and is continuing to play, sad
havoc amongst these island birds — many of them
exquisitely beautiful, and profoundly curious.
Onwards again to the West Indies, and still the
extermination of birds has progressed, in some of
the islands whole groups of certain species having
disappeared, and others, according to the most
recent information, are quickly following ! There
is an old proverb that says it is no good crying
over spilt milk. Be it so ; but the ornithologist
may well be excused a tear when he tries to
picture what he has lost ! Nothing can now
recall the many curious and beautiful birds that
are gone ; but let us profit by the sad experience
by endeavouring to save as many as may be of
those species still left to us, but threatened with
more or less early extermination. A few of these
we will now proceed to enumerate.
VANISHING EXOTIC BIRDS
THE CAROLINA PAROQUET
{CONURUS CAROLINENSIS)
rpHIS pretty little North American Parrot is now,
-*- alas ! a rapidly vanishing species. Bendire, one
of the most recent writers on this species, says :
" The total extermination of the Carolina Paroquet
is only a question of a few more years, and the end
of the present century will probably mark their
disappearance. Civilisation does not agree with
these birds, and as they certainly do some damage
to fruit in sections where they still exist, nothing
else than complete annihilation can be looked for.
Like the Bison and the Passenger Pigeon, their days
are numbered." ^
1 We hope Bendire and Mr. Lucas have taken rather a gloomy view
in this case. Certainly great numbers of these birds have recently
237
238 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The extermination of this species appears to be
directly due to the agency of civilised man. Their
numbers, we learn from Bendire's account, from
which many of the particulars of this species here
given are obtained, have gradually but steadily
diminished with the general settlement of those
regions frequented by this bird. Audubon, even
as early as 1832, tells us that they were not so
common as formerly ; but even as recently as 1860
they were still comparativelj'' common in the Gulf
States, and the Mississippi, Arkansas, and White
River valleys. At the present time the Carolina
Paroquet is confined to the least accessible portions
of South Florida, and very locally to the Indian
Territory. As so often happens in cases of this kind,
some of the habits of this Paroquet are but im-
perfectly known, notwithstanding the bird's former
wide distribution and abundance. Its favourite
haunts appear to be well-timbered valleys and the
large cypress swamps so common in the Southern
States. It is a very social bird, rarely met with
alone, and so fearless that a flock is easily destroyed
whilst hovering above a fallen companion, as is the
way with certain Terns and other species. Before
been imported into Eui'ope, and hundreds of skins collected in
Florida for the Smithsonian Institution (Conf. His, 1896, p. 412).
THE CAROLINA PAROQUET 239
cultivated fruits became so common, the favourite
food of this Paroquet consisted of the seeds of the
cocklebur and sycamore, as well as those of the
cypress and pecan, together with beech nuts, the
fruit of the papaw, mulberries, wild grapes, pine
cones, and the seeds of the bur grass. Their acquired
taste for such cultivated fruits as bananas and
oranges, and for Indian corn, has brought down
upon them the wrath of the cultivator, and their
consequent extermination. Upon the ground this
Paroquet is somewhat clumsy, but in the branches
it moves about with great agility, climbing here
and there amongst the slenderer twigs, often head
downwards, reaching and nipping off the buds
and berries and fruits on which it subsists, and
swinging itself from bough to bough with the
help of its strong beak. Its flight is described as
undulatory, rapid, and graceful ; and so agile are
the birds upon the wing, that they dart in and out
of the thickest timber with ease even when flying
in compact flocks. Their call-note is a shrill qui
repeated several times, the last utterance being
prolonged into a sound like qui-i-i-i, and is most
frequently heard during flight. When the bird
was more plentiful than it is now, it roamed
about in flocks numbering hundreds of individuals
240 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
nowadays it is very exceptional to see more than a
score together, and usually small companies of six
or a dozen. They are most active in the morning
and evening, passing the middle of the day on some
favourite tree, hidden amongst the foliage, which
assimilates so closely with the colour of their
plumage as to render their discovery difficult. Mr.
M'llhenny says that in fall their food partly con-
sists of the fruit of the honey locust, and that after
feeding they retire to drink and to bathe.
There is much difference of opinion amongst
naturalists respecting the breeding habits of the
Carolina Paroquet. Mr. Brewster (Auk, 1889, pp.
336, 337) made many inquiries in Florida concern-
ing its nest, but only three men professed to know
anything whatever about it. Two of these —
hunters and bird-catchers — described the nest as
a flimsy structure built of twigs, and placed on
the branches of cypress trees. Confirming these
statements, Judge Long assured Mr. Brewster
that he had examined many nests built precisely
as described above. Formerly he found these
Paroquets breeding in large colonies in the cypress
swamps. Several of these colonies were composed
of at least a thousand birds each. They nested
invariably in small cypresses, the favourite position
THE CAROLINA PAROQUET 241
being on a fork near the end of a slender horizontal
branch. Every such fork would be occupied ; and
he has seen as many as forty or fifty nests in a
single tree. The nests were similar to those of a
Dove, made of cypress twigs, and often so loosely
put together that the eggs could be seen through
them from below. They ranged from five or six
to twenty or thirty feet from the ground. It
is difiicult to reconcile such testimony with the
statements of Wilson and others, who assert that
the bird breeds in hollow trees ; but we cannot
admit that Wilson knew anything about the matter
from personal observation, for he tells us that he
was unsuccessful in obtaining any information re-
lating to the time or the manner of building of
the Carolina Paroquet. He was assured that they
bred in trees. Certainly the latter method of
breeding is that adopted by most Picarian birds,
but possibly this species resembles the Yellow-
billed Cuckoo in its methods of nest-building. The
eggs of the Carolina Paroquet are said to be four
or five in number, and, judging from specimens
laid in confinement, to be " white, with the faintest
yellowish tinge, ivory-like and quite glossy; the
shell is rather thick, close-grained, and deeply
pitted."
16
THE OWL PARROT
{STRIGOPS HABROPTILUS)
TTERE we have another New Zealand species
whose complete extermination seems to be
speedily approaching. It is more than sad that
a species only known to science some fifty years
should be fast vanishing from the ranks of exist-
ing forms, and more so when we know that it is
one of those primitive forms from which so much
may be learnt, and which in this case anatomists
do not appear yet to have availed themselves to
any exhaustive extent. As is so often the case
with weakly and defenceless creatures, the Owl
Parrot is said to be chiefly nocturnal in its habits,
and probably to this fact may be due its prolonged
survival. Soon after its discovery it was said
to be an abundant bird in every part of the
country, but in nine years from that event it
appears to have been exterminated from the
settled districts, and is now one of the most local
THE OWL PARROT 243
of indigenous species. During the daytime this
singular bird is said to secrete itself in crevices
of rocks or tree roots, coming out in the evening to
search for the plants, seeds, and fruits upon which it
subsists. Although it appears sometimes to mount
into trees, its usual haunt is the ground. Here it
runs about, to some extent assisted by its short
wings, which appear unable absolutely to support
it in the air. It will thus be seen that the Owl
Parrot is a particularly helpless creature in the
presence of a predaceous animal. Before civilised
man came upon the scene, this helplessness was
of little moment, for it could generally manage
to elude its natural enemies, the birds of prey.
But when man introduces such previously un-
known foes as cats, dogs, weasels, and the like,
the result must of necessity be a disastrous one
for such a terrestrial bird. The Owl Parrot
furnishes one more instance of the crass folly of
meddling with nature's methods by introducing
birds and animals into countries where they
are certain to work untold harm, by destroying
creatures which might otherwise have survived
for ages yet to come.
The Owl Parrot is described by Professor
Newton as being "about the size of a Raven, of
244 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
a green or brownish green colour, thickly freckled
and irregularly barred with dark brown, and
dashed here and there with longitudinal stripes
of light yellow." And again : " Externally the
most striking feature of the bird is its head,
armed with a powerful beak, that it well knows
how to use, and its face clothed with hairs and
elongated feathers that sufficiently resemble the
physiognomy of an Owl to justify the generic
name bestowed upon it."
THE PASSENGER PIGEON
{eCTOPISTES MIGRATORIUS)
iy/rORE than ordinary interest attaches to the
present species, for it is one that has been
captured on several occasions in the British
Islands. Of such an interesting and once so
abundant bird it is hard to write, that its ex-
termination has progressed so rapidly within the
past quarter of a century, that its complete
extinction may be looked for during the next
decade. Formerly abundantly distributed over
the Northern States and Canada, up to near the
Arctic Circle, the Passenger Pigeon is now locally
dispersed through the deciduous forest areas of
Eastern North America — Northern Maine as
far west as Northern Minnesota, and Canada up
to the shores of Hudson Bay. The rapid decrease
of the Passenger Pigeon must be attributed to
the direct persecution of civilised man. For
more than two hundred years the bird has been
246 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
sorely persecuted, not only for its depredations
on the crops, but for the sake of its flesh. Its
numbers, however, were so enormous that even
this long-continued decimation appears to have
had little effect until comparatively recent years.
Wilson estimated its numbers in thousands of
millions ; whilst Audubon described them in
language which competent critics have condemned
as exaggerated. No species, however, could
withstand the slaughter that has gone on, and
the onl}?^ marvel is that there are any Passenger
Pigeons left in America at all ! The species, we
have reason to believe, can yet be preserved,
and it is sincerely to be hoped that American
naturalists will see that this is done. The vast
hordes that roamed the country even within the
past twenty years are gone; their capture is no
longer a profitable occupation ; and now that the
birds are reduced to breeding in scattered pairs
instead of in countless flocks, their extermination
must certainly be retarded. Bendire informs us
that isolated pairs still probably nest in the New
England States, Northern New York, Penn-
sylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and a
few other localities farther south.
Few birds could have been more gregarious than
THE PASSENGER PIGEON 247
the Passenger Pigeon. It was a species that not
only migrated in spring and autumn in countless
multitudes, but one that nested in colonies of
similar abundance. The vast flocks roamed hither
and thither in quest of food, and as the season
for reproduction approached they selected some
woodland retreat, and commenced to nest. Their
roosting-places during the autumn and winter were
similarly crowded, and the stirring scenes have
taxed the resources of many graphic writers to
describe them. Particulars of some of the more
recent of these " nestings," as they were called, have
been given by Bendire. One was in Michigan in
1877 or 1878, near Petosky. This vast breeding
colony extended for twenty-eight miles through the
forests, — eight miles through hard wood timber, and
twenty miles through white pine woods, — every tree
of any size throughout that distance containing
nests, and many were filled with them. None of the
nests were less than fifteen feet from the ground.
The birds arrived in this locality to breed in a com-
pact mass five miles long by one mile wide ! Com-
pared with this, the breeding colonies of all other
known birds sink absolutely into insignificance.
One billion Passenger Pigeons were said to have
been destroyed at this single " nesting " ; this may
248 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
be an exaggeration, but if a tenth of it represents
the actual figures, can we wonder that tlie poor
bird is now becoming rare ? Passenger Pigeons
are said to be very noisy whilst nesting, the
sounds uttered resembling the croaking of frogs,
and the combined clamour from a colony can be
heard at a distance of four or five miles. The
nest of this Pigeon is a slight platform of dead
twigs placed on a flat branch or in a crotch near
the stem. The two eggs are pure white. It is
said that each " nesting " occupies about a month
or five weeks. The favourite food of this bird
is beech mast and seeds, but since the colonisa-
tion of America grain of all kinds is greedily
devoured.
The general colour of the upper parts of the
adult male Passenger Pigeon is slate grey; the
scapulars and some of the wing coverts are brown
marked with black ; the quills and primary coverts
are black, the former margined with white ; the
central tail feathers are black, the remainder grey
marked with white, especially on the outermost.
The sides of the neck are violet grey, shot with
bronze and green ; the remainder of the under
parts is vinous chestnut, paler on the centre of
the breast and belly, and becoming white on the
THE PASSENGER PIGEON 249
under tail coverts. The female somewhat re-
sembles the male in colour ; but the head is brown,
the under parts are greyer, and most of the iri-
descent hues are absent. She is also slightly smaller.
The young are said to be browner than the female,
and most of the feathers of the upper parts have
pale margins. The throat and centre of the belly
are whitish ; the neck and breast are brown, with
pale margins to the feathers. The total length
of the adult male is about sixteen inches, the
graduated tail being eight inches in length.
THE CALIFORNIA VULTURE
{PSEUDOGRYPHUS CALIFORNIANUS)
rriHIS magnificent bird, with a spread of wing
-^ exceeding even that of the Condor, upwards
of ten feet, is another New World species which
seems threatened with speedy extermination. As
Mr. Lucas writes : " The threatened extermination
of the Californian Vulture is indirectly, rather
than directly, due to the agency of man, for its
suspicious nature has ever rendered this bird
difficult to capture, while the breeding-places are
in out-of-the-way and often inaccessible localities,
and although the Mexican miners of Lower
California are said to kill the bird on every
possible opportunity, in order that they may use
the quills as receptacles for gold dust, the destruc-
tion thus caused would naturally be but small.
The free use of strychnine in ridding the cattle
ranches of wolves and coyotes has caused the
disappearance of this bird, which has been
250
THE CALIFORNIA VULTURE 251
poisoned by feeding on the carcasses prepared for
the four-footed scavengers." In the face of such
facts, it seems difficult to suggest any way in
which this noble species can be saved, except by
making the practice of strewing poison in this
wanton manner illegal. We should like to see the
use of poison — and especially strychnine — made
illegal in the British Islands; it is a nefarious
practice, and its results are far-reaching and
disastrous. To their credit be it said, we have
known gamekeepers too humane to employ such
a method in destroying vermin ; although, alas !
there are others who without compunction are too
ready to place a poisoned egg for the benefit of
Jays and Magpies, and any other species that may
be tempted to taste the fatal lure. The death
agony of these poor unfortunate poisoned birds is
too sad to dwell upon.
The California Vulture never seems to have been
a very common bird. Formerly this species ranged
the country between the Sierra Nevadas ^ and the
coast from the Colorado to the Columbia rivers,
but the few that are left appear now to be confined
to Southern California. Even here the bird is
' There is some evidence to suggest that this species is yet fairly
common in the Sierra Xevada (Conf. Ibis, 1896, p. 412).
252 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
said to be extremely rare, and but very few
specimens have been obtained of late years. The
extreme usefulness of this and kindred species as
scavengers should cause them to be carefully
preserved. The habits of the California Vulture
are very similar to those of other Vultures. The
bird is fond of soaring at an immense height, as if
surveying the whole surrounding country in quest
of food. It is said that this Vulture was formerly
in the habit of going up the Columbia River for
five hundred miles to eat the dead salmon stranded
upon the banks. Its food is almost exclusive!}'-
composed of carrion, the bird rarely attacking
animals unless wounded or weakly. Whether
these birds hunt by sight or by smell still seems
a moot point. As most readers know, Waterton
strongly supported the latter view ; possibly the
birds find food by the exercise of both senses. Mr.
Lucas writes of this species : " Soaring as they do
at great heights, these birds command a view over
a territory many miles in extent, their keen eyes
not only searching the ground below, but keeping
a sharp lookout on the behaviour of any of their
fellows that chance to be within sight. No sooner
does one bird spy a prospective dinner, than
another, still farther away, is apprised of the fact
THE CALIFORNIA VULTURE 253
by his actions, and in a like manner number two
informs a third, so that the good news is rapidly
spread, and throughout a vast area the Vultures
come hurrying to one point."
This fine Vulture breeds on inaccessible cliffs.
The weneral colour of the California Vulture is
brownish black, with sheeny reflections on the
upper parts ; the tips to the greater wing coverts
form a narrow wing bar; whilst a bar of white
extends beneath the wings, and is very conspicuous
during flight ; the feathers on the upper neck are
elongated.
THE HEATH HEN
{tympanuchus cupido)
rnmS bird is very closely allied to the now
better-known Praiiie Hen. The Heath Hen,
as it is rather inappropriately termed, for it is
an arboreal species, and heath is a plant by no
means common in America, formerly had a some-
what extensive distribution, ranging over Eastern
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Long Island, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Its extermination is
probably due to the felling of timber and clear-
ance of land, together with wanton shooting in
the nesting season, before game laws came into
existence or were so strictly enforced. It is
melancholy to know that this interesting species
is now limited to an area of about forty square
miles on the Island of Martha's Vineyard,
Massachusetts. Here, however, this last remnant
of a formerly abundant species is strictly protected
by law, and it is some satisfaction to be able to
THE HEATH HEN 255
quote Brewster's opinion that the bird is in no
present danger of extinction. According to recent
calculations, there is on an average from three to
five Heath Hens to each square mile of ground
occupied.
The Heath Hen differs considerably in its habits
from its near relative the Prairie Hen. The latter
bird is fond of open country, but the present bird
is only found in woods. Its favourite haunts are
oak scrubs ; and here it chiefly subsists on acorns
and berries, wandering occasionally to the outlying
fields to feed on grain and the leaves of clover, etc.
The nest is placed in the oak woods, generally at
the base of some large stump, and is a mere hollow
lined with leaves and scraps of dry grass. The
twelve or thirteen eggs are creamy buff, slightly
tinged with green, and unspotted. It is not
known that more than one brood is reared in the
season.
According to Brewster, the Heath Hen is on an
average a pound less in weight than the Prairie
Hen, but closely resembles that bird in appearance.
The females are practically similar in colour, but
the males have the feathers of the neck tufts fewer
in number, and the longest ones lanceolate in
shape.
THE AMERICAN TURKEY
{me LEA GRJS AMERICANA)
rpHE Turkey of the United States is not the
-^ species that was imported into Europe early
in the sixteenth century, apparently by the
Spaniards, and from which the domestic breed,
now such a familiar feature of the English farm-
yard, has descended. The latter species, possibly
the sole progenitor of the tame race, has its home
upon the tablelands of Mexico, and, so far as we
can ascertain, is still a common bird and likely to
remain so. The American Turkey, the subject of
the present notice, is unfortunately bordering on
extinction; and the same may be said of the
sub-specific form found in Florida (Meleagris
arnericana osceola). In the early days of
American colonisation, the Wild Turkey was
common enough and widely distributed throughout
all areas suitable to its requirements ; but as its
ancient haunts became more and more populated
256
Plate ix.
THE AMERICAN TURKEY
,*' tl>
THE AMERICAN TURKEY 257
with white settlers, who not only destroyed the
bird, but cleared away its cover, it gradually
decreased in numbers, so that the day seems not
far distant when a Turkey will be as rare in
the United States as it is in an English county !
As Bendire remarks, there are plenty of records
testifying to the former abundance of the American
Turkey throughout the Southern New England
States, and of its existence in Southern Maine;
but at the present day its total extirpation east of
the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River "is
only a question of a few years."
The Turkey, like most game birds, is a resident,
Bendire writes of its habits as follows : " The Wild
Turkey is essentially a woodland bird, and inhabits
the damp and often swampy bottom-lands along
the borders of the larger streams as well as the
drier mountainous districts found within its range,
spending the greater part of the day on the ground
in search of food, and roosting by night in the
tallest trees to be found. From constant persecu-
tion, in the more settled portions of its range it has
become by far the most cunning, suspicious, and
wary of all our game-birds ; while in sections of the
Indian Territory and Texas, where it has, till
recently, been but little molested, it is still by no
17
258 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
means a shy bird. These birds feed on beech nuts,
acorns (especially those of the white and chinquapin
oaks), chestnuts, pecan nuts, black persimmons,
tunas (the fruit of the prickly pear), leguminous
seeds of various kinds, all the cultivated grains,
different wild berries and grapes, and the tender
tops of plants ; also grasshoppers, crickets, and
other insects. The actions of the gobbler during
the mating season, while paying court to the
female, are similar to those of the Domestic Turkey,
and well enough known to need no description.
The call-notes of the Wild Turkey resemble those
of the domesticated bird very much; still, they
differ somewhat. In feeding, the usual note is
quitt, quitt, or pit, pit. When calling each other,
it is keow, keow, kee, kee, keow, keow, and a note
uttered when alarmed suddenly sounds somewhat
like cut-cut."
Of the form found in Florida, Dr. Ralph writes :
" Fifteen years ago I found the Wild Turkey
abundant in most parts of Florida north of Lake
Okeechobee, with perhaps the exception of the
Indian River region ; but they have gradually
decreased in numbers since then, and though still
common in places where the country is wild and
unsettled, they are rapidly disappearing from those
THE AMERICAN TURKEY 259
parts in the vicinity of villages and navigable
waters." From this gentleman's careful observa-
tions we learn that the Wild Turkey has consider-
ably modified its disposition within the past twenty
years. Formerly they were somewhat stupid and
unsuspicious birds, but now no bird or animal in
the country is more alert or more difficult to
approach. Although, as we have stated, this
Turkey is a resident, it is subject to much wander-
ing about, usually going in flocks of from two or
three to twenty individuals. Sadly significant is
the fact that, whereas in earlier years large droves
might be met with, single birds and small parties
have now taken their place.
The Turkey is polygamous, and upon the females
devolve all care of the eggs and young. In Florida
the pairing season begins as early as February, but
in more northern haunts a month or so later. This
love season lasts for about three months, and during
that interval the males are very pugnacious, seem
to lose a good deal of their wariness, and are said to
be easily lured by the hunter imitating the call.
The hen birds make a scanty nest upon the ground,
often at the foot of a tree or beneath the shelter of
a bush. This nest is merely a shallow hollow
scantily lined with dry grass and withered leaves.
26o LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The eggs are from eight to twelve or thirteen in
number, ten being an average clutch. Occasionally,
however, two hens will lay in the same nest, as
many as twenty -six eggs having been found
together, one hen sitting upon them, the other
standing close by, probably to take her turn in the
task of incubation. These are pale orange buff,
thickly yet somewhat indistinctly marked with
reddish brown.
The familiar Turkey of the farmyard is too well
known to require detailed description here.
THE ALDABRAN RAIL
{dryolimnas aldabranus)
A LTHOUGH the present species cannot yet be
classed as absolutely rare, its extermination
has already commenced, and there is no reason to
doubt will proceed rapidly with the spread of the
extirpating agents. The present species (closely
allied to the Dryolimnas ahbotti, of Assumption
Island) is apparently confined to the small island
of Aldabra with the surrounding reefs, and is an
admirable illustration of an island form before
becoming exposed to those altered conditions of
life that have already proved so disastrous else-
where. In this case the sad work of extirpation is
only just commenced, by the cats which have been
introduced into the island, and are now running
wild to prey upon the ancient avifauna. These
cats, it is said, will eventually spread over the
entire Aldabran group of islets, and the conse-
quences will of course be most disastrous. Such
261
262 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
creatures should never be allowed to enter these
small islands at all, peopled as they are with so
many interesting types of avine life.
The account of the habits of this Rail, written
by Dr. Abbott from personal observation during a
residence of three and a half months on the island,
are so interesting that we transcribe them in full.
This naturalist tells us that the bird is " very
common on all the islets of the Aldabra group,
abounding on even the smallest, which do not
contain more than half an acre, excepting Grand
Terre, where it has been exterminated by the cats,
which run wild there. Excessively tame and un-
suspicious, as well as inquisitive, they run up to
inspect any stranger who invades their habitat,
occasionally even picking at his toes. Each pair
seem to reserve a certain area of jungle for their
own use, and chase off all intruders of their own
kind. They are very noisy, particularly in the
mornings and evenings. The most common note
is a clear short cry, or rather whistle, repeated
twelve or fifteen times. While whistling, the bird
stands erect, with his neck full length and bill
elevated, seemingly greatly enjoying his own
musical performance. Often a pair joins in a duet,
the male and female standing close together facing
THE ALDABRAN RAIL 263
each other. Another note is a sort of squeak, and
appears to be a sign of anger. They also make a
series of short grunts, which seem to be a love-note,
and is also used in calling up their young. These
birds fight among themselves quite fiercely, flying
at each other like gamecocks. One frequently gets
the other on his back, pinning him down and peck-
ing at him. The battle is quickly decided, and the
vanquished gets up and runs away, pursued by the
conqueror, who, however, soon halts, and, drawing
himself up to his full height, whistles a psean of
victory. They do not seem to inflict much injury
upon each other in these combats. Their food is
anything organic that they can pick up; they
never scratch like fowls, but poke around among
the dry leaves with their bills. The few people who
lived upon Aldabra told me that the Rails were very
destructive in the gardens, and also ate the fowls'
eggs ; but so far as I myself observed, they do no
damage whatever. They are extremely quick in
their movements, darting and dodging about the
jungle with great activity. They are not absolutely
flightless, but use their wings to assist them in
leaping, being able to jump and flutter from two to
five feet off" the ground. In the open they can
easily bo caught by a man, but once in the jungle
264 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
no teiTicr can catch them. On my first arrival in
Aldabra, in Soptomber, a few pairs were breeding ;
but the majority did not breed until November and
December, when a heavy rainfall occurred. Some-
times the nest is placed in a shallow cavity in the
coral rock, being simply a few dry leaves and sticks ;
sometimes it is a large loose mass as big as a half-
bushel basket, a foot or two from the ground, and
placed in a dense tangle of grass and euphorbia.
In this case the cavity is very deep, only the head
being visible as the bird sits upon her eggs. The
number of eggs laid, as a rule, is three ; one nest
contained four ; some were said to sometimes con-
tain more, but I did not meet with any. I was
unable to ascertain the period of incubation, or to
obtain any very young specimens. The hen sits
very closely, and can scarcely be driven off her eggs,
returning immediately on the departure of the
intruder." Bendire describes the eggs of this
Rail as follows : " The shell of these eggs is strong,
finely granulated, and moderately glossy, and in
shape they vary fi-oin ovate to elongate ovate. The
ground colour is creamy white, sparingly dotted
with fine sp(;ts of liver brown, vinaceous, and
lavender, which are usually heaviest about the
larger end of the egg."
THE ALDABRAN RAIL 265
We could have no better example of the way in
which so many species have been exterminated in
various islands after man has appeared upon the
scene. Birds absolutely fliglitlcss, or only capable
of fluttering slowly along close to the ground, tame
and unsuspecting as most have been found to be,
are utterly helpless in the presence of man, and
even more so when their island homes are invaded
by such domestic animals as cats and dogs, and
such predaceous creatures as mice and rats, that
invariably follow man in his wanderings about the
world. There can be but one ending, and sooner
or later tlie weakest goes to the wall, and its race
dies out completely.
THE KIWIS
{apterygid^)
rpHE four species of Apteryx — called "Ki-wis"
-*- by the Maoris, and a name by which they are
now more familiarly known — must be ranked with
some of the most curious and interesting of
existing avine forms. They are birds of very local
distribution, being confined to New Zealand ; and,
being flightless, are not only becoming rare, but are
doubtless doomed to early extinction. This seems
inevitable in islands where the indigenous fauna
has suffered so severely since their occupation
by civilised man. These wonderful islands seem
almost like one of Nature's storehouses, where have
been preserved the relics of bygone ages, and
where all these beautiful and curious creatures
would have been living their harmless lives in
peace down to the present day, had man not
colonised them, or even introduced so many exotic
species with such disastrous results. Tlie Kiwis
266
KIWIS
THE KIWIS 267
are the survivors of a race of birds that has ahnost
entirely vanished from the earth — living examples
of an old-time fauna long faded in the mist of
ages past and gone. These curious birds vary in
size from that of a Bantam up to that of a small
Turkey. They appear to have neither wings nor
tail, and are clothed with dense hair-like plumage ;
they have long Snipe-like bills, the nostrils being
situated almost at the tip. The nearest surviving
relations of the Kiwis are the Struthiones or
Ostriches and allied birds, but they differ from
these in so many important respects as to warrant
their separation into a distinct order. The Kiwis
were not known to science until the early part of
the present century. Their nocturnal habits will
undoubtedly save them longer from extinction, as
they are thus far less likely to fall victims to man
or rapacious animals. As previously remarked,
four species of these singular birds are recognised
by naturalists. The species first discovered appears
to have been the South Island Kiwi (Apteryx
australis); the second, from the same island, is
the Little Grey Kiwi {Apteryx oweni) ; the third
species is the North Island Kiwi {Apteryx
mantelli) ; whilst the fourth, the Large Grey Kiwi
{Apteryx haasti), is found in both islands. By
268 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
some naturalists this latter bird is thouofht to be
doubtfully distinct ; but it is said to be not only-
larger, and with a stouter bill, but darker in
coloration, the bars on the plumage being nearly
black.
Sir Walter Buller's account of these birds is
certainly the best that has been published, and
extracts from this, referring to the North Island
species, may aptly be quoted here. He writes, in
his classic History of the Birds of New Zealand,
as follows : " The Kiwi is in some measure compen-
sated for the absence of wings by its swiftness of
foot. When running, it makes wide strides, and
carries the body in an oblique position, with the
neck stretched to its full extent and inclined
forwards. In the twilight it moves about
cautiously and as noiselessly as a rat, to which,
indeed, at this time, it bears some outward re-
semblance. In a quiescent posture the body
generally assumes a perfectly rotund appearance;
and it sometimes, but only rarely, supports itself
by resting the point of its bill on the ground. It
often yawns when disturbed in the daytime,
gaping its mandibles in a very grotesque manner.
When provoked, it erects the body, and, raising the
foot to the breast, strikes downwards with con-
THE KIWIS 269
siderable force and rapidity, thus using its sharp
and powerful claws as weapons of defence.
While hunting for its food, the bird makes a
continual sniffing sound through the nostrils, which
are placed at the extremity of the upper mandible.
Whether it is guided as much by touch as by
smell, I cannot safely say ; but it appears to me
that both senses are used in the action. That the
sense of touch is highly developed seems quite
certain, because the bird, although it may not be
audibly sniffing, will always first touch an object
with the point of its bill, whether in the act of
feeding or of surveying the ground ; and when
shut up in a cage or confined in a room, it may
be heard, all through the night, tapping softly
at the walls. It is interesting to watch the bird,
in a state of freedom, foraging for worms, which
constitute its principal food ; it moves about with
a slow action of the body, and the long flexible
bill is driven into the soft ground, generally home
to the very root, and is either immediately with-
drawn with a worm held at the extreme tip of the
mandibles, or it is gently moved to and fro by an
action of the head and neck, the body of the
bird being perfectly steady. It is amusing to
observe the extreme care and deliberation with
270 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
which the bird draws the worm from its hiding-
place, coaxing it out as it were by degrees, instead
of pulling roughly or breaking it. On getting the
worm fairly out of the ground, it throws up its
head with a jerk, and swallows it whole."
The food of the Kiwis — it is not known to differ
in all the four species — is worms, beetles, and the
kernels of berries : pebbles are often found in the
stomach of these birds. These birds make little or
no nest, laying one or two eggs in a hollow in the
ground. These are incubated by the male. The
North Island species has been known to lay eggs in
captivity, but never successfully to breed. During
the breeding season Kiwis are said to be silent.
Formerly, when the Kiwis were much commoner
than they are now, they roamed about in parties of
from six to a dozen, and their shrill cries were a
striking feature of the mountainous areas they
frequented, sounding near and far in the stillness of
the night.
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS:
OSTRICHES, RHEAS, EMUS, AND
CASSOWARIES
TT is sad to know that these giant birds, archaic
-*- forms with few surviving near relations, and
the last remnants of an ancient avifauna, once
widely dispersed, are almost certainly doomed to
more or less early extinction in a wild state. These
great birds, together with the still surviving Kiwis
(conf. p. 266) and the long extinct ^pyornithes, of
which the fabled " Roc " (of Arabian Nights fame)
is presumed to be one, form the group of keel-less
Aves which are associated under the sub-class
Ratitse. All are flightless, if swift of foot, yet
certainly able to hold their own until man's per-
secution drives them rapidly onwards to complete
extirpation. Some of these big birds are con-
tinental, and have managed to survive, notwith-
standing their flightless state, in areas abounding
in carnivorous animals, whilst others under
272 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
possibly easier conditions have continued to
flourish in islands. All probably would have
survived for ages yet to come under normal
circumstances; but as civilised man has spread
over their ancient haunts they are brought into
contact with new enemies, which, alas ! they are
showing themselves powerless to resist. Some of
them furnish plumes of great commercial value,
and this is incentive enough for the white man,
and even his savage representative, to penetrate
into their most secluded haunts, and to slay and ex-
terminate without moderation or mercy. Already
many areas once occupied by these birds are
depopulated, man still continues to penetrate into
their less accessible haunts, and sooner or later they
will fall from the ranks of existing species.
Of all these birds the Ostrich (Struthio camelus),
is the most famous and the best known. There is
evidence to show that the Ostrich was formerly
more widely dispersed than it is now. The
probability is that at one time this bird roamed
over many of the vast deserts of South-western
Asia, although, so far as is known, it is now but a
dweller in those of Arabia, occasionally straying
into adjoining areas. Its great stronghold at the
present time is the deserts and wide treeless plains
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS 273
of Africa, from the Sahara south to the northern
borders of Cape Colony. Whether there are three
species of Ostrich in Africa or only one is by
no means a settled question, nor one which need
concern us here, beyond stating that birds from
the south have been separated under the name of
australis, and others from the Somali country in
the north-east have been designated by the term
molybdophanes. The points relied upon seem
somewhat trivial ones.
When in a state of freedom the Ostrich is a
polygamous bird, sometimes met with in large
companies, but more usually in parties of four
or five — one male and several females. Canon
Tristram states that the Ostriches dwelling in
the North African plains and deserts are not so
gregarious as those found farther south. These
bands of Ostriches do not appear to roam so much
as an inexperienced reader might imagine, and
under ordinary circumstances confine themselves
to a radius of twenty or thirty miles from their
headquarters. They are excessively shy and wary
birds, never allowing a strange object to approach
them very closely, and when alarmed running off"
at a tremendous pace into the wilderness. At full
speed the stride of an Ostrich measures from
18
274 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
twenty-two to twenty-eight feet. It is these
splendid powers of locomotion that have saved the
Ostrich from complete extermination long ago, and
stand the bird in good stead at the present time.
For speed and endurance the bird may be said to
equal almost any other species gifted with powers
of flight. As Canon Tristram wrote many years
ago in his interesting book on the Great Sahara :
" The capture of the Ostrich is the greatest feat of
hunting to which the Saharan sportsman aspires,
and in richness of beauty it ranks next to the
plunder of a caravan. But such prizes are not
to be obtained without cost and toil, and it is
generally estimated that the capture of an Ostrich
must be at the sacrifice of the life of a horse or
two. So wary is the bird, and so vast are the
plains over which it roams, that no ambuscades or
artifices can be employed, and the vulgar resource
of dogged perseverance is the only mode of
pursuit. The horses undergo a long and painful
training — abstinence from water as much as
possible, and a diet of dry dates, being considered
the best means for strengthening their wind. The
hunters of the tribes to the east of the M'zab set
forth with small skins of water strapped under
their horses' bellies, and a scanty allowance of food
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS 275
for four or five days distributed judiciously about
their saddles." During the non-breeding season
numbers of both sexes consort together. Another
very remarkable fact in the habits of the Ostrich
(as well as other Struthious birds) is its association
with zebras and antelopes. Mr. Selous records
having seen nine Ostriches — four of them males —
consorting with an old wildebeest bull. During
the breeding season each male Ostrich gathers two,
three, or even four females round him, and a place
is selected in which the eggs are deposited. It is
said that all the hens lay in the same nest, which
is a deep hollow in the sand scratched out by the
feet of the breeding birds, the excavated material
forming a rampart round it. Here thirty or more
eggs will be deposited in circles, and upon these
the old male broods at nightfall, commencing his
task when about a third of the number are laid.
The eggs do not seem to be covered during the
daytime, the sun furnishing the warmth necessary
for their incubation. The hen birds are said to
remain in the vicinity of the huge nest to assist in
driving off beasts of prey. Outside the nest some
twenty or thirty eggs are also laid, and these,
some observers assert, are to furnish food for the
newly-hatched young. The old Ostriches are
276 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
extremely careful in visiting the nest not to betray
its whereabouts, and will even feign lameness
when their helpless brood is threatened by danger.
The large eggs are cream yellow. They are good
eating, and from their enormous size often form a
welcome addition to the traveller's larder — some-
times scanty enough — in these desert solitudes
and scrub-covered plains. It is not known that
the Ostrich rears more than one brood in the
season. The value and use of the plumes of the
Ostrich are doubtless known to every reader, and
the growing scarcity of wild birds has led to their
being kept in captivity and denuded of their
feathers at stated intervals. Ostrich-farming is a
growing and a profitable industry. This method
of obtaining plumes is certainly to be commended,
and may prolong the Ostrich's existence as a
species; hunters of the wild feathers may even-
tually not be able to compete remuneratively with
the farmers of them.
Far away to the eastwards, in the steamy forests
of the Malay Archipelago and Australasia, we
enter the home of another type of these gigantic
flightless birds. These are the Cassowaries, form-
ing the family Casuariidae, of which some nine or
ten species have been described. They arc found
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS 277
in Ceram, New Guinea, New Britain, North
Queensland, and elsewhere in the Australian region.
Here again there can be little doubt that complete
extermination will overtake these curious birds,
and perhaps even more speedily than in the case
of the Ostriches, Emus, and Rheas, for many of the
species are limited in their distribution to islands
where colonisation is rapidly spreading. The
Ceram Cassowary (Casuarius galeatus), is perhaps
the best known and the most frequently seen in
menageries and zoological gardens. It is confined
to the island of Ceram — a small place for such a
large species, not quite two hundred miles in
length and about fifty miles in breadth in its
widest part — where it is said to be still somewhat
common. Dr. Wallace thus describes this species :
" It is a stout and strong bird, standing five or six
feet high, and covered with long coarse black hair-
like feathers. The head is ornamented with a
large horny casque or helmet, and the bare skin of
the neck is conspicuous with bright blue and red
colours. The wings are quite absent, and are
replaced by a group of horny black spines like
blunt porcupine quills. These birds wander about
the vast mountainous forests that cover the island
of Ceram, feeding chiefly on fallen fruits, and on
278 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
insects or Crustacea. The female lays from three
to five large and beautifully shagreened green eggs
upon a bed of leaves, the male and female sitting
upon them alternately for about a month." It is
said, however, that in confinement the cock birds
incubate the eggs alone — a custom common to
Struthious birds.
Passing on to the mainland of Australia, we find
the equally curious Emus, destined, we fear, soon
to become totally exterminated. Already the big
lonely birds have vanished from all the more
settled parts of the country, and as man penetrates
still farther afield, the last haunts must in the
course of time become depleted, if some means are
not devised for their protection. There are two
species of Emus known to science, and these are
the only members of the family Dromaoidse. The
first of these (Dromceus novce - hollandicB), is
apparently confined to South-eastern Australia,
having become extinct in the islands that dot Bass
Strait and in Tasmania. The second species
(Dromceus irroratus), is the representative of the
Emus in Western Australia. One very remarkable
characteristic of the Emus is the curious internal
bag or pouch connected with the windpipe. Its
use is not yet definitely known. It has been
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS 279
thought to be an organ of sound during the
breeding season, whilst some writers have suggested
that by filling this pouch with air the bird can
better keep its head above water when swimming,
for it is well known that the Emus and the Rheas
take readily to the water and swim with apparent
ease. The Emu, next to the Ostrich, is the largest
of surviving birds. Its haunts are open country,
expanding plains, and scrub-clothed wastes. It is
capable of running with amazing speed, and
when brought to bay defends itself by dealing
kicks of great rapidity and power. The Emu
subsists upon roots of various kinds, herbage,
fruits and berries. It is more or less gregarious,
and usually met with in small parties. The Emu
is probably polygamous. The nest is a big hollow
in the ground scratched out by the bird, in which
are deposited from nine to a dozen eggs, light or
dark bluish green in colour. These eggs are in
great request for various ornamental purposes.
The cock bird incubates them, the period being
ten or eleven weeks. It is to be hoped that our
Australian kinsmen will see that the Emu, their
national bird, is saved from the extermination
which threatens it. This, indeed, should be a
comparatively easy task.
28o LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
The remaining Struthious birds are inhabitants
of South America. These are the Rheas, associated
in the family Rheidae by some authorities, con-
stituting a separate Order of others. There are
at present three species of Rheas recognised by
ornithologists. The earliest to receive a scientific
name was Rhea americana, a species ranging from
Paraguay and South Brazil to Patagonia. The
second species to be described, Rhea darwini, was
named after its discoverer, Darwin, who obtained
it during his ever-memorable voyage round the
world on the Beagle. It is apparently confined to
the extreme southern portions of South America,
although we should say it is said to occur north of
the Rio Negro. It is also asserted that these two
species of Rhea sometimes consort together as far
north as the Rio Colorado. The third species was
named Rhea macrorhyncha by Mr. Sclater, and so
far as is yet known inhabits the " sertoes " of
North-east Brazil. The Rheas are much smaller
birds than the Ostrich, but more nearly resemble
that bird than the Cassowaries and Emus, although
wanting the famous curling plumes. The plumage
of the Rhea, unfortunately, has a commercial value
so great that it is likely soon to lead to the
complete extermination of the bird. Thousands
STRUTHIOUS BIRDS 281
are slain annually, and whole districts have been
already depopulated, for the sake of these plumes,
which Mr. Harting tells us are known in the
feather trade as " vautour," In its general habits
the Rhea very closely resembles other Struthious
birds. It is more or less gregarious, living in
companies on the wide vast pampas, and, like its
African relative the Ostrich, frequently consorting —
probably for safety's sake — with deer and guanacos.
Of its aquatic habits Darwin wrote as follows in
his classic record of the Beagle's voyage : " It is
not generally known that Ostriches [Rheas] take
readily to the water. Mr. King informs me that
at the Bay of San Bias and at Port Valdes, in
Patagonia, he saw these birds swimming several
times from island to island. They ran into the
water both when driven down to a point, and
likewise of their own accord when not frightened ;
the distance crossed was about two hundred yards.
When swimming, very little of their bodies appear
above water; their necks are extended a little
forward, and their progress is slow. On two
occasions I saw some Ostriches swimming across
the Santa Cruz River, where its course was about
four hundred yards wide, and the stream rapid."
The Rhea is polygamous, several females laying
282 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
about twenty eggs in a large hollow in the ground,
and there the cock bird incubates. South America,
we now know, during remote ages was roamed by
many enormous flightless birds. The Rheas are the
only survivors of this distant past, and it is to be
hoped that steps will be taken, and that quickly,
for their efficient preservation.
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC
SPECIES
A S we brought the first part of the present
volume to a close by a brief review of a few
threatened species of British birds, so may we
aptly close the second by a similar notice of a
selection of exotic forms which, though still
happily surviving in fair numbers, are yet exposed
to persecution which may end more quickly and
more disastrously than many of us may suspect.
There can be no doubt that the vast numbers of
skins imported into our islands, as well as into
many Continental cities (Paris especially), must
prove a very serious drain upon the species repre-
sented. What we wrote seven years ago may well
be repeated here : " The trade carried on in plumes
and bird-skins for hats, muffs, dress trimmings,
etc., is enormous. At the present time (we regret
the practice still prevails) almost every lady we
meet has feathers of some kind on her head-dress
283
284 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
or garments ; whilst the windows of shops devoted
to millinery are quite ornithological studies. The
supply of all this feather ornament entails the
sacrifice of much bird life ; but birds are prolific
creatures, and their numbers (in a great many
cases) do not appear to diminish in any serious
degree at present. Almost every kind of bird is
pressed into the industry. Birds of resplendent
plumage from equatorial forests — gaudy Parrots,
Manakins, Tanagers, Trogons, and Fruit Pigeons —
are sent in bales to the markets of the civilised
world. Spangled Humming Birds from the New
World, like gems of the finest water, come in their
millions ; Sun Birds from Africa and the East ;
Ptarmigan from Arctic snows ; Snipes and Plovers
from northern regions ; beautiful Egrets and Herons
from southern rivers and marshes — ail find a
ready sale; according to the ephemeral fashion that
may chance to reign supreme." It is comforting to
know that in India — whence so many birds came
to the plume marts of the West — measures have
been taken for the better preservation of many
threatened species, mostly common birds in that
country, but rapidly becoming rarer from such
ceaseless persecution. South America is yet a
happy hunting-ground for the bird-hunter, but
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 285
surely diplomacy need not be very severely taxed
to secure a remedy. Nearer home, in Central
Europe, much needless slaughter of birds goes on
almost unchecked, although here again we think
some steps have already been taken, and doubtless
better protection will come in time if naturalists
will but bestir themselves. North America, again,
where so many birds have decreased in numbers,
is sadly lacking in protective measures, especially
in the Southern States ; and here we may suggest
a fertile sphere of usefulness for the American
Ornithologists' Union.
It is often suggested, not only in popular books
on natural history, but in others of more scientific
pretensions, that species gTadually retire before
advancing persecution or colonisation, and the
hope is often fondly cherished that threatened
species seek remoter and quieter haunts as civil-
isation advances or as enemies increase. But no
greater mistake could be made. The individuals of
any species inhabiting certain areas will continue
so to do notwithstanding persecution or advancing
civilisation, until every one is directly or indirectly
exterminated. But we are told this species or
that is retiring into less populated localities,
finding or seeking retreats remote from man and
286 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
his works. Nothing of the kind. It is man
himself that is advancing over the normal area of
the doomed species, extirpating as he goes, and if
his colonising movements extend sufficiently far as
to include the whole of that normal area, that
species is lost. It is one of the most important
canons of distribution, that species do not retreat
from adverse conditions of life, and one that
cannot be too well remembered by all seeking to
protect indigenous species from extermination, as
well as by collectors and thoughtless sportsmen.
It will therefore be seen that the more local a
bird may be — in the sense of having a restricted
area of distribution — the less capable it is of
withstanding prolonged persecution or injurious
disturbance. A small area may be soon depleted
of its avine treasures, and it is this incontrovertible
fact that may well make us pause in the rash
persecution of so many localised species, or hasten
our endeavours for their safety.
Now, some of the most local of all avine forms
are to be found amongst the Humming Birds. These
beautiful birds are most abundant in mountainous
countries, and many of the species are so extremely
local, that a valley, a mountain-top, or an ancient
crater is their sole habitat. Many species are
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 287
confined to various islands. Thus fifteen or more
species are found in the West Indies ; two species
are confined to the Bahamas ; Juan Fernandez is
the island home of two more ; whilst Masafuera
and Tres Marias each have their own indigenous
species. In this extreme localisation lies the chief
danger of extermination. We know that vast
numbers of Humming Birds are killed annually for
the plume trade, and there is a strong probability
that some of these island species, and others
dwelling in the most accessible continental areas,
may be extirpated. Fortunately, some of the
fairest of these feathered gems dwell in remote
localities, and where they are scarcely likely to fall
victims to the craze for plumes; but others are
more readily obtained, and these species seem likely
to suffer. We must, however, bear in mind that
Humming Birds in most districts they frequent are
exceptionally abundant. Most observers agree on
this, some saying they are as numerous as bees
about flowers. Scores of individuals may often be
seen flitting about a single tree. Mr. Henshaw tells
us that in a single clump of Scrophularia he
counted eighteen Humming Birds " all within reach
of an ordinary fishing-rod " ; whilst at Apache, in
Arizona, he saw two species "literally by hundreds,
288 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
hovering over the beds of brightly tinted flowers,
which in the mountains especially grow in the
greatest profusion on the borders of the mountain
streams." In the same country Mr. Scott found it
no uncommon thing to see from twenty to fifty
birds in the air at once. Collectors of Humming
Birds for the plume markets, however, do not show
any discrimination, and in this way many rare
species are thinned out. One of the rarest and
most beautiful Humming Birds in existence is the
gorgeous Sclasphorus rubromitratus. Only two
examples are known to science, and yet one of
these was discovered in a bird-stuffer's shop in San
Francisco, mounted for a lady's hat ! It is even by
no means improbable that species as yet unknown
to naturalists find their way into ladies' headgear.
If ladies must have Humming Birds, pray let us
have them collected with discrimination, and in
a way that will not extirpate some of the rarest
and most curious and beautiful forms.
Other threatened species are various Herons and
Egrets. These birds for the most part breed in
colonies, and so wanton and persistent has been
their slaughter, not only in Europe and India, but
in America, that some districts are almost depopu-
lated. Upon the cruelty involved in this annual
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 289
massacre we do not care to dwell, and we would
fain hope that it has been exaggerated. We cannot
understand, for instance, how the old birds are said
to be shot down at the nesting-places when their
helpless young are already hatched. The delicate
plumes of the Egrets are donned for the pairing
season, and are consequently at their best before
the eggs are actually incubated. As the breeding-
season progresses, these fragile plumes abrade and
are damaged in various ways, so that the plume-
hunter is acting against his own interests in
shooting the old birds (which we doubt) at a time
when the young are abroad and the prized feathers
almost worthless.
Of the European species, mention may be first
made of the Great White Egret {Ardea alba).
Although found in more or less abundance through-
out Africa, this fine bird has only two important
breeding-places in Europe — one of them in the
valley of the Danube, the other in South Russia.
In the former locality the bird used to be abundant,
but the plume-hunters have thinned its numbers
most disastrously, and we may fairly class it as a
species threatened with extermination in Europe.
Its snow-white plumes, adorning the neck and
drooping gracefully from the lower back, are the
19
290 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
fatal attraction. The Little Egret (Ardea garzetta),
is likewise much persecuted for the sake of its
elegant dorsal plumes. It also is found over most
parts of Africa, but it is only a local summer
migrant to Europe from Spain in the west to South
Russia in the east. It breeds in colonies, especially
in the valley of the Danube, and from this district
great quantities of plumage have been obtained.
This pretty little bird furnishes what is known in
the plume trade as " osprey " ; nothing to do with
the bird of prey of that name, but the delicate rigid
filiform feathers that spring in graceful tufts from
the back and sides of the Little Egret and some
other species. This filmy plumage is the wedding-
ornament, donned in spring, so that its procuration
involves the slaughter of the bird just previous to
reproduction. Both these Herons under ordinary
circumstances are wary and shy, seldom allowing
man to approach them within gunshot ; but at their
breeding-places much of this vigilance is relaxed,
and their slaughter is a comparatively easy under-
taking. Some of the American species of Herons
have been even more scandalously butchered at
their breeding resorts in Florida and elsewhere.
We have already alluded to one species of Vulture
that is said to be fast becoming exterminated, and
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 291
here we may call attention to the partial extinction
of a second, the magnilicent Bearded Vulture
{Grypcetus barbatus). This species frequents the
mountain ranges of South Europe and Asia, but in
many localities is fast becoming rare, whilst in
others complete extinction seems to have overtaken
it. In some parts of Europe its decrease has been
attributed to poison and shooting ; whilst in certain
Asian haunts the value set upon its plumage has
led to its extermination. It is most certainly a
threatened, if not a downright vanishing species,
and it seems a pity that such a splendid type of
raptorial bird cannot be preserved to us.
Some of the species of Petrel are also threatened
with extermination. One of these, the Capped
Petrel (CEstrelata hcesitata), is specially interesting
to English ornithologists, because it has been known
to visit the British Islands on abnormal flight.
Although the distribution of many Petrels is very
little known, the present species appears formerly
to have resorted to the islands of Guadaloupe and
Dominica for the purpose of breeding, but here it
seems to have become extinct or nearly so, and our
only hope can be that the Capped Petrel has other
nesting-places still undiscovered by man. It is said
that the disappearance of the bird from Dominica
292 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
is due to the introduction of a carnivorous animal
into the island ; whilst the introduced mongoose
is also hastening the extermination not only of
an allied species, but of a Vulture, the Turkey
Buzzard (Cathartes aura), which from its terres-
trial nesting habits is powerless to save its eggs
and young from destruction.
Again, there are many threatened species in N'^w
Zealand and the Chatham Islands, to say nothing
of the innumerable islands of the Pacific. In some
of these remote spots, however, it is consoling to
know that the birds are protected to some extent.
We believe the French have passed a law for the
protection of birds in all islands over which they
have authority ; in the Chatham Islands, Mr.
Chudleigh, we are informed, is doing all he can to
preserve the birds, and will not allow them to be
shot on his property. It is to be hoped that British
influence may also make itself felt, not only in the
islands of the Pacific, but on many another shore
in remote parts of the world where the birds are
being exterminated. A few years ago an important
movement was inaugurated for the preservation of
the native birds of New Zealand ; a memorandum
being drawn up by Lord Onslow, the then Governor
of the colon}^, and presented to both Houses of the
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 293
General Assembly. In this it was pointed out that
many birds were threatened with extermination,
from increase of population and the attacks of
various predaceous animals lately introduced into
the islands. It was suggested that the only
ejfRcacious way to preserve these interesting birds
from extinction was to set apart certain small
islands for their benefit, and to place them under
strict protective regulations. What success has
attended the endeavour we are unable to say ; but
it is a step in the right direction, and an example
that might be copied with advantage in many other
parts of the world.
In conclusion, we may briefly allude to those
curious birds, the Penguins (Spheniscidae) — all of
them inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere,
from the tropics southwards to the margin of the
Antarctic ice sheet. They breed in colonies, some of
these containing many thousands of birds, on the
lonely islands of the Southern Seas. These Penguin
" rookeries " are, however, becoming much reduced
in numbers by the wanton slaughter practised by
the crews of vessels sailing on these remote waters.
Upon the land Penguins are helpless enough, and
may be killed with the greatest ease, being unable
to fly. It is simply scandalous that such a curious
294 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS
and interesting type of bird as the Penguin is
should be so wantonly and brutally destroyed.
But we fear that the weight of British protest is
considerably lessened, when we know that a whole
community of Penguins was exterminated by the
crew of an English man-of-war engaged upon a
scientific expedition to Kerguelen Island ; boiled
down to provide " hare soup " for the officers of
Her Majesty's ship Volage I It may be urged that
Penguins are yet common enough ; but we are by
no means certain that this is the case respecting
some species, and no bird, no species, can survive
long such inhuman massacre. It is interesting to
remark that in places where birds are judiciously
killed for food or feathers, or their eggs system-
atically collected, they do not appear to suffer to any
serious extent. We have only to point to the vast
bird colonies of St. Kilda and Iceland, for instance,
to confirm these remarks. In St. Kilda the seventy
or more people that reside there live upon birds,
the egg and bird harvest being gathered every
year, with no apparent injurious eifect upon the
various species congregating there. This has been
going on for many years; but the natives are
sensible enough to let their birds enjoy aldose
time," when they are left in peace to propagate
SOME THREATENED EXOTIC SPECIES 295
their kind. The same may be said of the vast
colonies of Eider Ducks that are protected for their
commercial value. These birds are robbed system-
atically of eggs and down each season, and many
adults are killed, yet the Eiders do not decrease, for
they are always allowed to rear broods, and the
slaughter is by no means indiscriminate. Experi-
ence thus teaches us that birds would yield supply
enough for all reasonable purposes — either for food
or plumage — if judicious care were exercised. It
is gratifying to know that Egrets are now being
kept in captivity for the sake of their plumes.
There is, we believe, an establishment near Tunis
where these birds are kept and allowed to breed
in a large aviary. The plumes are shorn twice in
the year, in May and September, each bird furnish-
ing about seven grammes in the year, valued at
thirty-five francs, a sum, after deducting all ex-
penses, which leaves a net gain of some twenty-
two francs per bird. This shows how easily we
can preserve these beautiful birds from extinction
and yet gratify the whim of women for wearing
" aigrette." (Conf . Bulletin Soc. Nat. d'Acclim. de
France, 1896, p. 102.)
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